Russian Future
by CaptainKai01869
Summary: The new generation means happiness all around, but when old faces from the past appear, what happens? *Fourth story in my main Beyblade series, after "Loyalties" and followed by "The Future Continues"*
1. New Lives

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

**Russian Future**

Chapter 1: New Lives

Intro

It has been two years since Marina and Tari defeated Venera, and Marina married Tala. A lot has happened in that time: the Blitzkrieg Bladers have broken up with Bryan, Spencer and Ian having left to start families of their own and whatnot. Kai had married and now had a son named Gou, though his wife passed on after Gou's birth. Tari was married to Brooklyn and was currently eight months pregnant. Tala and Marina were also on the road to being parents, though Marina was nine months and the time was nearing...

Beginning

In the base of the Blitzkrieg Bladers, now only occupied by Tala and Marina, plus a few servants as well, they were sitting in their warm living room as a calm breeze blew outside. Marina was lying her head on Tala's arm as she rested. She was tired as the load she carried had been kicking a lot recently, getting ready to emerge.

"Had another restless night?" Tala asked as he looked down at his wife leaning on him.

"Yeah. Your kid is like a Jackie Chan wannabe." said Marina with a smirk which made Tala chuckle.

"We've had good times and bad times to get to this point of our lives." he said and Marina looked up at him slightly confused.

"Why do you want to bring up the past now?" she asked, the slight annoyance at this subject noticeable.

"I don't mean to upset you, Marina. I wouldn't dare endanger you, pregnant or not." he said slowly.

"I know, it's okay, Tala." she replied and gently leant back on him and closed her eyes.

They stayed in that position for a few minutes and Tala started to chuckle.

"What?" Marina asked with a smile.

"I was thinking back to a time we went to Japan to visit Brooklyn and the others, ages ago, before even Kai's kid was born." said Tala.

"Oh, how come?" Marina asked.

"We visited the beach then and I pictured what you looked like." said Tala as a faint blush appeared on his pale cheeks.

Marina giggled slightly. "Yeah, I wore a bikini then. I can't wear one while carrying this little darling." she said as she lightly stroked her finger over her rounded stomach.

Tala watched her and smiled.

"I miss being able to wear a bikini." she said. "Not that I don't love carrying your child." she added smiling.

Tala looked at her tenderly and gently placed his hand on her stomach. A minute or two after and he felt a kick which made his eyes light up and Marina smiled sweetly at him.

"He's strong." said Tala with a smirk.

"He?" asked Marina.

"Well, I say he because the kick was strong. Just like his dad would be able to do." said Tala with a chuckle.

Marina chuckled then winced slightly which made Tala panic at first.

"You okay?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah, just a twinge." she said.

Tala nodded and went to get something from the kitchen. Marina felt a few more twinges when suddenly: a lot of liquid came out from between her legs and she screamed in surprise.

"Marina?" said Tala in panic as he rushed back in.

"It's starting...hurry, Tala. Do something." said Marina.

Tala nodded and called an ambulance. Once they were on the way, he decided to call Kai and Brooklyn so everyone was informed.

* * *

In the hospital, Marina had been taken to a room. Outside the room, Kai and Brooklyn were sitting on seats. Kai with his arms and legs crossed, Brooklyn looking a little tense. Kai had left Gou with Tari as she hadn't been able to come along due to her pregnancy. Tala, on the other hand, was pacing in front of the others. The usually calm Russian captain had lost all his nerve and confidence since he was a few minutes away from being a dad.

"Tala, stop pacing. Calm down, take a deep breath and go in." said Kai.

Tala stopped and faced the door. He and the others could hear Marina's screams as she went through the labour.

"All you have to do is hold her hand, believe me, I know, I've been there." Kai continued.

Tala looked round, he had briefly forgotten, with everything going on, that Kai had been in his position only a year ago.

"What if what happened to your wife happens to Marina?" asked Tala worriedly.

Kai's reassuring glare turned to sadness and he lowered his head.

"It won't. It can't. Not to her. Relax, Tala, it'll be okay." he said and slowly looked up.

Brooklyn was about to say something, but decided not to and turned back to Tala. Tala nodded and was about to enter when they all heard a particularly loud scream and the midwife came out.

"Is she okay? What's going on? Is the baby okay?" asked Tala quickly in nervousness.

"Babies." said the midwife and Tala's eyes widened. "You have twins, Mr. Valkov." she continued then went away to get something.

Tala stood there for a second as it sunk in. Kai came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Congratulations, pal." he said with a small smirk. Tala started to smile as it hit him, he was a father to twins.

"_Well done, cous._" said Brooklyn to himself, still sitting but looking a lot happier with a bright smile on his face.

Kai sat back down and Tala entered the room. He saw Marina looking exhausted and her hair slightly messed up, but she was happy with a little baby in her arms. He came over and sat on the chair next to the bed.

Marina looked at him smiling and handed him the baby in her arms.

"Say hello to your son." she said.

Tala looked down at the baby in his arms and quietly said "My son."

Marina picked up the other child and told Tala that one was a girl. Tala smiled, he was a father to twins, a boy and a girl. He gently placed his finger in his son's small hand and as the child played with it slightly, tears of happiness started to fall from Tala's eyes. He had once been considered one of the most emotionless people ever, now he was being more emotional than he ever had been.

"They're beautiful, Marina." he said as he looked back up at her.

"Thank you, Tala, but you deserve some credit as they have a part of you in them." said Marina and smiled.

"Shall we name one each?" asked Tala as the baby in his arms looked up at him with half open, lively, icy blue eyes.

"Okay. What do you think of Kyra for our daughter?" Marina asked as the little baby with dark green eyes started to move her little legs slightly.

"Beautiful, and what about Alex, short for Alexander, for our son?" he asked.

"Perfect." said Marina and she kissed Tala.

Brooklyn and Kai then entered the room, both with smiles on their faces.

"They're adorable, cous." said Brooklyn as he looked between the two Valkov twins.

Marina smiled and let her cousin hold Kyra. He looked down at the little girl in delight and was so proud of his cousin that everything had turned out perfectly.

"Thanks for the support, Kai." said Tala. He could understand why Kai wouldn't want to hold one of the children. It would bring back memories of that day a year ago.

"No problem, Tala. Come on, Brooklyn. I suppose we should give Tari the good news." said Kai.

Brooklyn gently gave Kyra back to Marina and gave her a small kiss on the cheek instead of a hug as to be on the safe side.

"Thanks for being here, Brookie. Good luck with Tari's pregnancy." Marina said as Brooklyn and Kai left.

"Thanks, cous. We'll give you any updates." said Brooklyn. Kai nodded and they were gone, to go back to Japan.

Tala kissed Marina again and they both smiled down at their children: Kyra and Alex Valkov.

* * *

The next night when the kids and Marina were home, it was a quiet night, but at about two in the morning, the sound of crying could be heard. Tala awoke and upon noticing Marina still asleep, he thought he better do his bit and got out of the bed.

"_Sleepless nights. How did Kai handle this and...alone?_" Tala asked as he headed to the room next door where the kids' cots were.

He entered and decided better not turn the light on as he would go and wake the other child too, so he approached the one that was crying and saw it was his little girl: Kyra.

"Come here, sweetheart." he said quietly and softly as he picked up the little girl in his arms.

He leant back against the wall as he did all he could to try and quieten her. Honestly, he didn't have a clue, but he let instinct help on times he got stuck. He kissed his daughter's cheek and even hummed a little tune he remembered from a long, long time ago. It made a slight tear fall from his eye, but it put Kyra to sleep again. He dried the tear away and smiled down at his little girl as he gently placed her back in her cot, glad his mother's old tune helped.

He set back off to his room with a soft, tender smile on his face. There was nothing better than being a father. He had never experienced anything like it...


	2. Happy Families

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 2: Happy Families

Intro

It has been three years since Marina gave birth to Kyra and Alex. It was a month after that that Tari Kingston had her home birth resulting in her and Brooklyn's kids: a boy and a girl who they named Luke and Katie. Right now, the happy family were expecting a visit from Kai and Gou.

Beginning

Tari woke sleepily and yawned. She looked to her side to see that Brooklyn was clearly already up and dealing with the kids. She, herself, got out of bed and dressed then went downstairs to join the other three.

"Katie, gimme it." whined a young boy as Tari entered the room.

The boy was Luke Kingston: he had brown hair with a few orange highlights in it and his eyes were aquamarine like his dad's. At the moment, he was fighting with his younger twin sister over a toy.

"You'll have to do better than that, bro." said the girl playfully as she avoided Luke trying to grab the toy from her.

The girl was Katie Kingston: she had dark orange hair, a little darker than her dad's and her eyes were dark violet like her mum's.

"Katie." whined Luke as he was failing and thought the soft touch would work on her as she was more like Brooklyn in personality.

"Don't get upset, Luke. It's only a teddy bear." said Katie as she came up to Luke.

He deviously smiled and grabbed the teddy. Katie gasped as she realised it was all an act on Luke's part.

Brooklyn chuckled. "Just like his mother." he said as he picked up his little girl in his arms.

"I heard that." said Tari as she walked over. Brooklyn looked up with a nervous smile at his wife's glare, but as she approached him, she smiled and kissed him lightly.

"Gross." muttered Luke quietly, even though he didn't really understand it.

"Okay, little man, come here." said Tari and she ruffled Luke's hair and he whined more.

"Mum!" he said as he tried to sort his messed up hair out.

Tari smiled and sat down for her breakfast.

"Daddy, what are we doing today?" Katie piped up from her position on Brooklyn's lap.

"A visit from your Uncle Kai." said Brooklyn, and inside he laughed as he still found it funny hearing 'Uncle Kai'.

"That means we get to see Gou too." said Luke with a mock frown as he usually got into a argument with Gou, not that it ever went far they were so young.

"Gou's sweet." said Katie, and Luke lightly smiled.

"Yeah he is. Shame his dad isn't all the time." said Tari, and both children chuckled.

"Uncle Kai is so cool. He can scare Daddy." said Luke.

Brooklyn looked at his son a little funny then as it was true, slightly.

"That's not so true, Luke. Daddy plays that bey game and he's the strongest of them all." said Katie excitedly.

"Yeah, I can't wait to get my blade." said Luke and the kids began a long discussion on beyblades and bit beasts, though their knowledge needed correcting by their parents a few times.

* * *

A few hours later and Luke jumped at the sound of a car arriving. He was positive it was Kai and ran to the door, which Tari opened.

"Long time no see." she said and gave Kai a small hug.

"Yeah, I know. Time flies when you have a pest 24/7." said Kai as Tari released him.

"Who are you calling a pest, Dad?" asked the four year old boy at Kai's side.

This was Gou Hiwatari and he was, to put it basically, a mini-Kai. He had the dual blue hair, the violet eyes and the pose: standing arms crossed.

"Such a serious kid, aren't you, Gou?" asked Tari to her nephew.

"Blame Dad." said Gou then gave his aunt a hug. "I have missed you, Auntie Tar." he added.

"Where are the others?" asked Kai mockingly as he knew Luke was right behind Tari at the moment.

Tari chuckled at Luke as even though he loved his uncle, he still suffered from being scared whenever Kai first appears somewhere.

"Hello, Uncle Kai." said Luke as he stepped out from behind his mother.

Kai knelt down to Luke's level and said "Don't I get a hug?"

Luke paused and then ran into Kai's arms and Kai picked him up making him laugh happily.

"Hi, Cous." said Katie as she ran in and saw Gou.

"Hey, Katie." replied Gou and gave his cousin a small hug.

"Katie and Gou sitting in a..." started Luke, but he was cut off by Gou's glare frightening him.

"Don't start, Luke." said Gou.

Luke nodded, which made Kai smile.

"You all forgotten me?" asked Brooklyn as he joined them.

"Of course not. It's good to see you again, Brooklyn." said Kai as he walked in still carrying Luke.

"Hi, Uncle Brooklyn." said Gou.

"Hi, Gou. Wow, you are so much like your dad." said Brooklyn as he picked Gou up.

"Yeah I am. I think I'm getting as scary as him too, because the other day, this kid of about eight years old ran away from me when I glared at him." said Gou.

Brooklyn laughed. That was impressive: an eight year old running away from a four year old.

Once they were all settled in the living room, Kai told Brooklyn and Tari how things had been while the kids played together.

"Sounds like you've been busy." said Tari as Kai finished telling them how his job was going, which hadn't been easy to hold together with having to care for Gou and doing it alone.

"Yeah, but it's worth it." said Kai and he looked over at Gou with a smile on his face. He did enjoy being a father.

"Glad it's working out." said Tari and she smiled too.

"Daddy, Gou broke my car." said Luke in a teary voice as he held up his toy car, which had a wheel missing now.

"It can be fixed, Luke, don't worry." said Brooklyn and he began to fix the car, while Tari comforted Luke. Kai dealt with his son for breaking the car.

"It wasn't on purpose, Dad." explained Gou as he said what had happened.

Kai nodded, but still wanted his son to apologise. Gou found that odd as his father never apologised unless extremely necessary, but he did it anyway and Luke forgave him. Plus, the car was fixed.

"You getting your beyblade soon aren't you, Cous?" asked Katie to Gou.

"Yeah, when I'm five. I can't wait to blade. Dad is so cool and his bit thingy is so awesome." said Gou. He had seen his dad's blade once or twice and liked the look of Dranzer on the bit piece.

"Our Daddy's is cool too. Looks a little scary, but awesome." said Luke, as he and Katie had seen Brooklyn's blade and Zeus in the centre. They had also seen Tari's blade with Spiked Tiger.

"I'm going to follow Dad's footsteps and be a champion, I just know it." said Gou happily.

"That sounds so cool. I bet you'll be awesome, Gou. Everyone will love you." said Katie.

"Dad has had fangirls and still does a little, but he's been pretty against it since we lost Mum..." said Gou then trailed off. He sort of knew what happened to his mum, that he would never see her or meet her.

"Let's not get onto that, shall we?" Luke asked as he didn't want his cousin upset.

Gou nodded and said "First one to TV gets to choose what we watch." then he ran with Luke following, level with Katie.

* * *

Later on, it was time for Kai and Gou to return home.

"It's been nice having this little reunion." said Tari as she gave Kai a hug goodbye.

"Yeah, I'm hoping to see Tala and Marina again soon. It's been a while since I saw them. Shame really that they live in Russia so it's less often." said Kai.

"Yeah, I hope to see them too. At least Marina is happy though." said Brooklyn.

"Bye, Auntie Tar. Goodbye, Uncle Brooklyn." said Gou with a smile.

"Bye, Gou." said Brooklyn and ruffled his hair making him glare, so he backed off which made Tari chuckle.

"Bye, Mini-Kai." said Tari and hugged her nephew.

Gou then hugged Katie goodbye and waved to Luke. Then the two Kingston kids looked up at Kai.

"Bye, Uncle Kai." said Katie a little sadly at him having to go.

"Yeah, see ya, Uncle Kai." said Luke.

Kai smiled down at the kids then without warning, Luke ran at him and hugged his leg crying.

"Wish you didn't have to go, Uncle Kai." he said as he cried. The others watched with small, cute smiles.

"It won't be long until you see me again, Luke." said Kai as he picked Luke up.

"I know, but I'll miss you." said Luke.

"Dry those tears and look after your dad." said Kai. Luke smiled and nodded while Brooklyn mock frowned at Kai.

"I will, Uncle Kai. Goodbye." said Luke after Kai put him down.

The family waved as Kai and Gou left, back home.

"I call cartoons!" said Katie as she rushed back in.

"No fair, head start!" said Luke as he chased her.

Brooklyn put an arm round Tari and they smiled as they watched their children fight over The Powerpuff Girls or Scooby Doo.


	3. Dads Battle

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 3: Dads Battle

A couple of weeks had gone by and over in Russia, Tala was spending his time dealing with his daughter, Kyra: she was so much like him it was unbelievable.

"Kyra, you can't stay in bed all day." said Tala from outside his daughter's room.

"Daddy, leave me alone." Kyra whined from inside where she was still lying on her bed.

"Stop being stubborn and just get up." Tala said in slight impatience.

"You mean stop being like you right?" Kyra asked, obviously smirking though Tala couldn't see through the door.

"Hn, I'm an adult and you're a child. You shouldn't keep talking back to me." replied Tala and he crossed his arms.

"An adult arguing with a child. You must be going soft, Daddy." said Kyra a little teasingly.

Tala sighed to himself. His daughter was such a pain, but he loved her.

"What's up, Tala?" asked Marina as she came over to him.

"Guess." he said simply.

"You can't get Kyra up again." said Marina. Tala nodded and Marina chuckled.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"You can never get her up. You haven't been able to get her up since she was a toddler and you actually picked her up." said Marina. Tala hn'd slightly, but Marina gave him a light kiss on the cheek which made him smile. "Alex is downstairs. Why don't you go stay with him and I'll get Kyra up?" she added.

Tala nodded and headed downstairs to join his son, while Marina faced her daughter's bedroom door.

"Okay, Kyra. You heard your father, now get out of that bed." she said slightly demandingly.

"Oh, don't, Mummy. I want to stay in bed." whined Kyra.

"Kyra Michelle Valkov, get yourself out of that bed." said Marina in a stricter tone.

"All right, all right." said Kyra and she hopped off of her bed.

A minute or so later, she came out dressed. The young Valkov girl had long red hair resembling her dad's, but not in his style, while her eyes were dark green, like her mother's.

"About time." said Marina with a smile and the mother-daughter pair walked downstairs.

* * *

When they got downstairs, Alex was yapping on and on about a new video game he loved. He turned round as his mum and sister entered. He had short, blonde hair which pointed up and to the side slightly, while his eyes were the same icy blue as his dad's.

"Hey, Dad. Mum did what you failed at." said Alex, referring to the fact that Marina had got Kyra out of bed.

"That's because Kyra wants to be difficult as she knows she's just like me." said Tala.

Kyra hn'd and crossed her arms. Marina and Alex laughed.

"So, you kids looking forward to a visit from Kai and Gou?" Marina asked.

"Hold up, when was this arranged?" asked Tala in surprise.

"I don't know where your brain was last night, Tala, but I reminded you then." said Marina.

"I know where his brain was." muttered Alex quietly, but Tala still heard him.

"Alexander, you're three years old. Don't even think about it." said Tala though he ruined the effect by blushing faintly, which made Kyra chuckle.

"Anyway..." started Marina and they turned back to her. "If you kids have anything you want to do, you better get it done now." she said.

The twins nodded and ran off to their respective rooms.

"Cute kids." said Marina.

"Yeah, we've done a good job so far. I still kind of wish Kyra wasn't so like me. It can be frustrating sometimes, but oh well." said Tala.

"What's wrong with her being like you?" asked Marina and she walked over and sat on Tala's lap.

"Nothing at all I suppose." said Tala with a smile and wrapped his arms around Marina and kissed her lips.

Once the kiss was broken off because of the need for air, Marina looked at Tala with a look which made him think.

"Okay, what do you want?" he asked.

"For you to try and not lose your temper with Kai. Especially not in front of the kids." she said.

Tala lightly laughed, clearly thinking Marina was asking for a miracle, but she looked dead serious so he stopped laughing.

"Okay, Marina. I'll try, but you know Kai." he said.

"Yeah, I know. As long as you do try." she said then kissed him again.

* * *

Not long later and Kai and Gou arrived. Kyra was happy to see Gou. She got on with him quite well and since their families lived in different countries, they rarely saw each other.

"Hi, Gou." she said and gave him a small hug.

"Hey, Kyra. You still arguing with your dad?" he asked.

"Sometimes. I think he's going soft. He basically gave up this morning." she said with a smile.

"Did I hear that right? Tala? Tala Valkov, almost as stubborn as me, gave up?" asked Kai as he overheard what Kyra said.

"Yep." said Kyra excitedly.

Marina sighed and greeted Kai then they entered the other room where Tala and Alex were. Alex was trying to steal the TV remote off of his dad.

"Daddy, my programme is starting." he whined.

Tala turned to see Kai and Gou so said "Alex, you aren't watching TV with guests here, so stop whining."

Alex's icy blue eyes turned into puppy dog eyes and he went all soft on Tala. Kyra groaned and whispered "Oh my God."

Tala sighed. "Oh, all right. There you go." he said and gave Alex the remote.

"Tala, you have let yourself go big time, pal." said Kai.

"He's only three, Kai." said Tala in defence.

"Yeah, exactly. If you always give in like that he'll become spoilt. Do you want that?" asked Kai.

"Okay, you got a small point, but he'll learn. I mean, Kyra's certainly not spoilt." said Tala.

"Kai, don't listen to my dad. He can't even get me out of bed in the morning anymore, he needs Mum to do it." said Kyra with a small smirk to Tala.

Tala frowned lightly at his daughter as Kai laughed.

"Maybe I'm not as hard as I used to be, but I'm still a master blader." said Tala, bragging a little.

"Tala, it's been over five years or so since we battled and I bet I can still beat you." said Kai.

"You think so? Then bring it on." said Tala and went to get his blade.

* * *

Outside, Kai and Tala stood on opposite sides of a beydish ready to launch.

"You ready, Kai?" asked Tala.

"Always." replied Kai.

Marina rolled her eyes. "_Boys will always be boys._" she said to herself.

"3...2...1...let it rip!" shouted Kai and Tala together and released their blades.

The blue blade charged towards the grey blade and then the grey blade pulled back so the blue blade wasted its power.

"Tala grows cowardly, huh?" asked Kai, though he was annoyed as that was an old trick his sister, Tari, used to pull on opponents.

"No, I'm just using strategy." said Tala with a smirk.

The grey blade started pushing the blue blade back.

"All right, go Dad!" shouted Alex then he turned to face Gou. "My dad can beat your dad." he said.

Gou hn'd as he knew his dad wasn't done yet. "Yeah right." he said.

Alex turned to Marina and said "Dad will win, right Mum?"

Marina waited for a second before answering as she wasn't so sure Tala would win, then she said "Even if your dad loses, it doesn't matter because blading is about doing your best."

She then turned to Gou and said "You could do with remembering that, don't follow your father's example."

Kai lightly frowned at Marina as he heard that and she smirked back at him.

"Okay, Wolborg. Take him out!" shouted Tala.

The white wolf rose from his blade and roared.

"Wicked!" exclaimed Alex.

"So amazing, wow." said Kyra.

Both kids were awed by their father's bit beast. They had seen his picture on the bit, but never seen him in action.

"Dranzer, Blazing Gigs Tempest!" shouted Kai.

The red phoenix rose from his blade with a loud shriek. Again, Kyra and Alex were impressed.

"He's as great as ever, Dad." said Gou who had seen Dranzer before, but only once when his dad had been training.

The phoenix released the feather daggers that struck around Tala's blade. Once they hit and trapped the blade, Tala panicked inside, then his blade went flying out the dish.

"And the champ is my daddy!" shouted Gou a little excitedly.

Kai smirked, but made a mental note to tell Gou not to say or do anything which involved bragging again.

"You did well, Tala." said Marina and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, Marina." said Tala and he picked his blade up.

"Nice battle. It's nice to know not much has changed over these years in terms of our talent at blading." said Kai.

"Yeah. We're both still as good as the old days." said Tala with a smile.

He walked over to Kai and they shook hands.

"I suppose we better get back home. It's getting late and Gou gets homesick." said Kai.

"I do not!" said Gou quickly, but the lie was so obvious it made everyone laugh.

"Well, he'll grow out of it. See you again, hopefully a little sooner." said Marina.

Kai nodded. Gou said his goodbyes to Kyra and Alex, then the two Hiwataris left.

"There is one last chocolate bar and I'm getting it as I'm older." said Kyra and she ran into the kitchen with Alex following.

Tala and Marina smiled and followed their children back inside, hand in hand.


	4. Emotional Memories

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 4: Emotional Memories

Over in Hiwatari mansion, in his well-sized room, young Gou was having a nightmare. He whimpered in his sleep and rolled over from side to side a lot. His dual blue hair was messed up from the rolling over and he was even sweating a little. His small chest was rising and falling rapidly as he was clearly distressed by this nightmare. Not many children of four years old had nightmares that could do this to them.

Over in his room, Kai was half asleep and had no idea that his son was being this bothered in his sleep. His violet eyes were starting to zone out as drowsiness took over and his eyelids fell and he was out. His dreams weren't always pleasant, but that was due to his nightmarish childhood. He had been through so much plus he had had a few nightmares in the last four years of his wife's death and how sad he had been on that day. Sure he was delighted to be a father, but losing the love of his life had torn him apart. It was thanks to looking after his son which gave him a reason to go on and fixed his broken heart again.

Later when it was very early morning, about 3am, Kai woke up as he had heard something. He yawned and focused his senses to pick up on any sounds that shouldn't belong, then there was a knock on his bedroom door. Knowing Gou was the only other person in the mansion, he said "Come in."

The door opened slowly and Gou walked in, in his pale blue pyjamas and was holding one of his toys close to him as if he was afraid to lose it. What worried Kai most though is that his son had tears running down his face and looked scared.

"Gou, what's wrong?" asked Kai as he got out of his bed and walked over to his son.

"I had...a nightmare." said Gou shakily.

"You know it's not real, Gou." said Kai, but knew there was more to it, as no nightmare alone could scare his son like this or make him cry this much.

"It was about Mum..." said Gou, feeling a little silly now as he knew his mother had had a peaceful death of no pain. He didn't fully understand death, but he knew he would never see his mum and he knew that when she had left them, she wasn't in pain.

Kai wasn't fully sure what to say as he had told his son everything he could about his mother and why she wasn't here, and he had done it in a way so Gou would understand and not be scared stiff.

"Sorry, Dad. I know I'm being a little weak..." said Gou and lowered his head as his tears continued.

"No, Gou, you're not. Come here, Son." said Kai and gently held his son in a hug. Gou wrapped his arms around his dad as best as he could and his tears slowly started to fade.

"Mum is up in heaven watching us, right, Dad?" Gou asked once he had calmed down a little.

"Yes she is, Gou, and she'd be so proud of you." said Kai and ruffled his son's hair.

Gou chuckled and ran to his father's window and opened it, then looked up into the stars and muttered a little story to them, as if talking to his mother. Kai just smiled softly and watched his son, then had an idea.

"Gou, how do you feel about paying your mother a visit?" he asked as he joined his son at the window.

"You mean her g...uh, what's it called?" Gou asked and embarrassingly laughed.

"Her grave, yes. Would you want to?" Kai asked.

Gou stared out into the sky, the stars flickering in his little violet eyes, so much like his dad's, and thought about it.

"Yeah, okay, Dad. I have a little note for her I just wrote in my room after I woke up. You'll hear it tomorrow as I'll read it out-loud." said Gou.

Kai nodded and picked his son up, then both of them looked out at the stars for a few minutes until Gou yawned and started to dose off in Kai's arms.

"Time for bed, Squirt." whispered Kai and took his son back to his room and tucked him back into bed.

"Goodnight, Daddy. I love you." whispered Gou as he settled back to sleep.

Kai smiled and said "I love you too, Gou." as he closed the door and headed back to his room. He really did love his little boy, more than anything in his life.

* * *

The following morning, Kai was up fairly early as usual, while Gou got up at late morning. He usually got up earlier, but as he didn't have the best night ever, it was understandable he could sleep in.

"You ready, Gou?" Kai asked his son once the young boy was dressed and had eaten.

"Yeah, I'm ready." answered Gou. He had his head hung low and seemed a little nervous.

"Are you okay?" Kai asked his son in concern and knelt down to Gou's level.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go, I want to give Mum this." said Gou showing Kai the little letter he had for his mother.

Kai lightly smiled and stood back up, then they left the mansion and headed for the cemetery. On the way, Gou returned to his usual serious look and if anyone stared at him, he glared back, putting them off. One little girl looked over at Gou and, in an act of either boldness or immaturity, blew a kiss to him. Gou's eyes slightly widened and he was caught off guard, then stumbled slightly, but got his balance back.

"What's up with you?" Kai asked as Gou hadn't managed to stumble in public since he was learning to walk in the beginning.

"Oh, um, nothing." said Gou then looked over at the girl who batted her eyelashes at him with a giggle. Kai looked over too at that point then turned back to Gou and saw the look on his son's face. He couldn't help but smile.

"Four years old and getting girls' attention. Gou, you really can't get more like me than you already are." he said with a chuckle.

"I haven't got time for girls." whined Gou and made a face of disgust. The girl actually noticed and hn'd in frustration then walked away with her mother.

"You say that now." said Kai.

"And I mean it, Dad. Girls just..." Gou started then shivered which made Kai laugh slightly.

"_When he's older, he'll understand then I might have to say 'Told you so.'_" said Kai to himself.

They entered the cemetery, which looked quite dark and foreboding, even on this sunny day. Kai looked around and then headed for one of the graves in the corner. Gou followed at a slow, but strong, pace. They approached the grave, it was one of the newer looking ones and the writing was very clear to read. It read the name: Kiri Hiwatari, followed by a date of birth and a date of death.

"Mum...?" Gou asked quietly as he looked upon his mother's grave.

Kai placed a gentle hand on his son's shoulder as he could tell that Gou was feeling sad at being here. Gou then stepped forward slightly, but avoiding the space of earth her body was lain.

"I have...a little something for you, Mum...I'm going to read it to you and...hope it explains everything about...how I feel." said Gou in a slightly shaky voice. Kai thought his son may start crying again so stayed close behind him.

Gou opened the letter he had and unfolded it to read it:

"'Dear Mum, I have had a good start thanks to Dad. He's awesome and we always have fun...even when we argue as I'm so much like him. He's told me some things about you...and they all sound lovely...I wish you could be with us...as we'd be a full family then, but I understand that you can't...I love you, Mum, and I always will...'" read Gou then folded the letter up back into the small envelope and lay it in front of the grave where some flowers were.

As he stood up, the tears were visible. As he felt them running down his cheeks, he turned and Kai knelt down to hug him. The little boy poured his heart out in his father's arms, and Kai began to think about the past...that day he lost Kiri forever...

**Flashback**

_It had been an ordinary day and Kai was tinkering with his beyblade when he heard his wife's scream of surprise as her labour started. He rushed into the room and called an ambulance. He knew what to do, and everything seemed fine until about an hour after arriving in the hospital. His wife lost consciousness unexpectedly and had to be taken to emergency caesarean. He was forced to wait what felt like hours._

_"She has to be okay..." he said to himself as he waited. He was more nervous than he had ever been in his life._

_He had called Tari already and she was on the way. She had to come alone as Brooklyn was meeting Garland. Sure it could have been postponed for this, but Tari had decided it'd make more sense for her to go alone. Soon enough, she arrived._

_"Kai, are you okay? What's going on?" she said in a rushed tone as she found Kai._

_"Not long after we arrived, Kiri lost consciousness. She has been taken for a caesarean..." answered Kai nervously._

_"Kai, try not to worry. The doctors know what they are doing. A caesarean isn't a new thing, they've been done plenty of times with many perfect results." said Tari in an attempt to reassure her brother._

_Kai believed her, but couldn't shake his feeling of worry. Both of them waited for at least another hour or two, until a doctor came in._

_"What's going on?" asked Tari before Kai could even open his mouth to say anything._

_"And you are?" asked the doctor._

_"I'm Tari, Kai's sister." she answered._

_"Well, Kiri is out of theatre and the procedure was successful." said the doctor then turned to Kai. "Mr. Hiwatari, you have a son and I'm relieved to say he's perfectly healthy."_

_Kai looked up, feeling calmer now, though there was something in the doctor's eyes which put him off getting too excited._

_"So, what's wrong?" he asked._

_"It seems something has entered Kiri's system and was the reason she lost consciousness in the first place. As she has used most of her energy to keep going this long, she is incredibly weak and we don't have the time to locate what's causing the problem. She doesn't have long left I'm afraid, Sir..." said the doctor then trailed off sadly._

_Kai looked terrified at that moment and ran out of the room to see his wife before it was too late. Tari stayed behind for now and waited. As Kai entered the room Kiri was in, he was relieved to see her awake. He looked to the side of her bed to see the cot with the baby boy in it._

_"Kai...you made it." she said as she looked towards the doorway._

_Kai walked over and sat down near her bed._

_"It's okay, Kai...the doctor has told me everything...I know I haven't got long, but I refuse to end it all on a miserable note." she said and picked up the baby next to her. "Here's our son."_

_Kai held the baby in his arms and gently smiled down at him. The child's eyes opened properly and shined a beautiful violet._

_Kiri chuckled slightly. "He has his dad's eyes, that's for sure." she said._

_"Shall we name him Gou?" asked Kai._

_"I thought you were a little against that name last time I mentioned it." said Kiri._

_"Well, I was, but I think it may suit him, plus it can be my last favour to you." he said._

_"Thank you, Kai...that means a lot." she said weakly._

_Kai stood up and gently kissed her._

_"You've done a great job, Kiri." he said once the kiss was broken off._

_"Thank you, Kai...tell your sister I said goodbye." she said._

_Kai nodded as a tear slid down his face._

_"Aw, Kai, it's okay. It's not really the end...promise me, though, that you'll take care of Gou..." she said._

_"I will. I'll keep him safe from anything. I promise, Kiri. I love him...as much as I love you..." he said and placed his son down back in the cot as he felt more tears threatening to fall._

_"Thank you for everything, Kai...I love you too..." she said weakly and her eyelids fell, never to open again._

_Kai looked down at her and sat back down then his tears fell, thick and fast. He couldn't stop them, even if he wanted to._

_"Kai?" asked Tari as she entered. As soon as she saw Kiri's body and no movement from it, and her brother's tears, she understood. "I'm so sorry, Kai..." she continued and came over to him._

_He looked up. For once not caring if someone saw how emotional he was. Tari didn't know what to say and just gave Kai a hug for comfort._

_"Gou's got the best dad ever, and remember, Kai, if you need any help, I'm not far away." said Tari._

_"Thanks, Tar." said Kai as he wiped some of his tears away, though they were still falling steadily._

_They had another hug..._

**End Flashback**

"Dad, are you okay?" asked Gou. He had stopped crying now, but noticed his father seemed a little sad.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine, Gou. I was just thinking. Let's go home." said Kai.

They set off back to their mansion, halfway back, Gou started chuckling.

"What?" asked Kai.

"Dad, about the girls, I don't have time for them now, but when I'm older I will. They won't be able to keep their hands off me." said Gou.

"Gou, that's fangirls. Don't you want a real girl who'll care for you?" asked Kai and gently cuffed his son's head.

"Ow, no fair. And yeah...I suppose I do." said Gou, and in his mind was a certain red haired girl...


	5. A New Power Force

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 5: A New Power Force

A year has gone by and now young Gou is five years old. The time has come for him to get his first beyblade and it's a big occasion. So, over in Russia, Kyra wanted to visit Gou to do something for him, but Tala was telling her they weren't going to go all the way to Japan as Alex wasn't well.

"Dad, this is a big thing for Gou. We should celebrate the occasion with him." Kyra said in a tone which was surprising as she was four, but it had been realised in the last two years that she was a lot like Tala.

"Kyra, how many times? No is no." Tala argued back. He loved his daughter, but the constant arguments due to them being so alike could get frustrating sometimes.

"Dad, you always think you know best. You know what? You're wrong this time as it isn't fair on Gou that he doesn't get any visitors on his fifth birthday." said Kyra with a hint of whining in her voice.

"I'm sure his Aunt Tari will visit him, so we're not going and that's final." said Tala then walked away from the argument.

Kyra swished her red hair and stuck her tongue out at her dad's retreating back. "You do that again and I'll snip that tongue off." he said. Normally that would scare a four year old, but Kyra knew her dad and just glared instead.

* * *

Upstairs, Alex was in bed with a bad cold and cough and Marina wasn't leaving his side.

"It sounds like your dad and sister have stopped arguing. How long do you think it'll last?" asked Marina with a small chuckle.

"An hour at most..." said Alex weakly with a small smile. "When will I get better, Mummy?" he asked with a tear falling.

Marina gently put a hand to her son's forehead and said "Soon, Sweetheart. Soon." then she kissed his cheek. She then gave him another dose of medicine. He smiled as it was good stuff and helped fairly quickly.

"You see? Your cold _has_ gone, Son. You just need to rest to recover." she said with a smile.

"Can I play a game, Mum?" he asked with a smile. Marina nodded, but said "Not for too long though." Alex jumped down from the bed and went over to his gaming console and started a game.

* * *

Over in Japan, Gou was very excited about his birthday and couldn't sit still, which was unusual for him. He had opened a new video game and a film. He was eagerly awaiting the main gift of the day which Kai was about to give him.

"Gou, calm down." said Kai with a small chuckle at how excited his son was.

Gou sat down with wide, excited eyes and a smile on his face.

"Close your eyes, Son." said Kai. Gou did and wasn't peeking. He held his hands out and felt something metal placed in them. "Open them."

Gou opened his eyes and there was a blue beyblade which had gold lines across the top of it.

"It's awesome, Dad." he exclaimed and held the blade tightly in one hand as he hugged his dad happily.

"I thought you'd like that. I worked hard on that for you, Gou." said Kai as his son released him and examined the blade's every angle.

As if on cue, the doorbell went so Kai went to get it as Gou awed at his new, and first, blade.

"Hello, Kai. How's the birthday boy doing?" it was Tari and she smiled as she entered.

"Hi, Tari. He's doing just fine. He's admiring his beyblade." said Kai.

"Ah, so you got it finished in time." said Tari as they walked into the living room area together.

"Aunt Tari!" exclaimed Gou happily and ran up to Tari and hugged her. She ruffled his dual blue hair with a chuckle.

"You have your first blade now. How do you feel?" she asked.

"I love it, Auntie. It's awesome." said Gou and showed her the blade.

Tari took a look at the blue blade. Being quite knowledgeable on blades herself, she could tell Kai had worked very hard on it. The balance, attack and defence seemed equal due to the metals and materials used in it.

"I'm going to test it." said Gou excitedly.

"You need a launcher, Kiddo." said Kai and presented his son one. Gou jumped in happiness, took it with a 'thanks, Dad' and ran to the basement where the beydishes were.

* * *

Down in the basement, Gou stood in a launch position and smiled to himself.

"Who does that remind you of, Kai?" Tari asked her brother in a whisper.

Kai raised an eyebrow for a second, then watched his son more closely and realised what Tari meant: his son had almost the same exact launch position he did. It made him smirk slightly and Tari chuckled.

"Is this right, Dad?" asked Gou as he prepared to pull the ripcord.

"Nearly. Watch your hands as you pull the cord. You don't want to catch your fingers and hurt yourself." said Kai.

Gou nodded and pulled the ripcord. The blue blade went flying towards the edge of the dish and wobbled on the edge before falling off and stopping.

"That was pathetic..." muttered Gou sadly as he picked up the blade.

"For a first try, it wasn't bad, Gou. I've seen bladers miss the dish entirely and crack holes in the walls." said Tari.

Gou nodded and launched a second time. It landed in the dish this time and circled the dish four times before stopping.

"I'm going to master this blade." said Gou and picked it up to try again.

"He's a stubborn one." said Kai with a smile.

"Like father, like son." said Tari with a smirk. Kai gave her a light smirk in return.

Gou launched a third time and the blade circled perfectly, started a zigzag and zipped around like a blur.

"Yes." said Gou triumphantly and focused on the blade making complex turns and movements. Kai was stunned. No five year old moved a blade like that so quickly after learning how to launch.

"He's learnt fast." said Tari. She was also stunned at her nephew's fast learning.

"His mother would be proud." said Kai, and Tari noticed his tone dropped a little.

"Yes, she would. She was a sweet person and always saw the best in others." said Tari. "Even twerps like Ian and Bryan somehow." she added and Kai chuckled.

"With Gou's fast learning, I may be able to give him this today." said Kai and put his hand in his pocket and brought out a bit.

"A bit beast? You think he'll be able to handle it?" asked Tari quietly as Gou practiced.

"Yeah, I think he can." said Kai as he put the bit back in his pocket.

* * *

Later, after Tari had gone back home, Kai was sitting on the sofa with Gou in his lap half asleep from all of his excitement and practicing.

"I did well, didn't I, Dad?" asked Gou and lightly yawned.

"You did great, Gou. I haven't seen someone learn how to master a beyblade so quickly before." said Kai with a smile.

"Thanks, Dad." said Gou and huggled up to his dad who sighed happily.

"I have one more gift for you, Son." said Kai and placed his hand in his pocket and brought the bit out.

"No way...a bit beast?" asked Gou in surprise.

"Her name is Kaenna and she came down from your mother's side. Hand me your blade for a moment." said Kai.

Gou gave the blade to Kai and he placed the bit piece in it.

"Your gift is complete now. Something from both me and your mother." said Kai and handed the blade back to Gou.

Gou looked down at the bit. The picture showed a golden phoenix.

"She resembles your bit beast, Dranzer." said Gou excitedly.

Kai smiled. Gou hugged him again and yawned again.

"Someone needs to go to bed." said Kai.

"Not me..." said Gou with another yawn then fell asleep in Kai's arms.

Kai lightly chuckled and picked his son up then carried him to bed and, once he had him tucked in, placed the blade on the bedside table.

"Goodnight, Son." he said quietly as he closed the door.


	6. Friend or Foe?

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 6: Friend or Foe?

It was a year later from Gou getting his beyblade and now his cousins, Luke and Katie, plus best friends Alex and Kyra, all had their first beyblades too. It was also a first day of school for the four younger kids, Gou having started when he was five and he's now six. Alex and Kyra had been helping each other through school as they went to a school in Russia while the other three were in a school in Japan.

Brooklyn was awoken with a start by Tari who demanded he get Luke up while she got Katie up so both children would be ready for their first day.

"Brookie, get out of that bed right now!" she exclaimed as Brooklyn rolled over in boredom.

Tari growled and made a clicking noise which sounded similar to a beyblade launcher so Brooklyn jumped up, and felt very silly when he saw no launcher in sight.

"Oh, Brooklyn, how many times will you fall for that? Even when I don't beyblade regularly anymore." she said with a laugh. Brooklyn frowned, but as he was now up he got out of bed and dressed then went to wake Luke up.

Tari sighed and went to wake Katie up. As she entered her daughter's room, she chuckled to herself as Katie looked so lazy spread out on her bed.

"Katie, time to get up, you have school remember." she said.

"Aw, Mum." whined Katie as she blinked her eyes to the sun coming in as Tari opened her curtains.

"I know you're a lot like your dad, but school, unfortunately, is about early mornings and working hard." said Tari.

Katie nodded and got out of her bed, straightening her nightdress and proceeded to brush her long, dark orange hair.

In Luke's room, he was pulling out his trick card on his dad: using his mum's stubbornness. It really doesn't help a father when their child is half-Hiwatari.

"Luke, just get up." said Brooklyn, trying to sound like an order, but Luke just smirked his mother's usual smirk. Brooklyn lightly frowned: his son was messing with him.

He then got an idea and clicked his fingers. He examined his son's beyblade and Luke wasn't a big fan of letting someone mess with his blade.

"Hey, Dad, it was polished last night." whined the five year old boy and he jumped out of bed.

"Now you're up, get sorted and come on. School is important." Brooklyn said with a smile and headed out the room.

Luke frowned and muttered "Like you ever took it seriously." and then he started sorting out his dual coloured hair so the brown and orange lay correctly.

* * *

When the family arrived to the school, Gou immediately saw them and lightly smiled and walked over to them. He was deliberately looking very serious as in the last year, he had got a bit of a reputation in the school and he couldn't let it slip.

"Hey, Cousins." he said as he greeted them.

"Hey, Gou." said Katie. Luke nodded absentmindedly as he was staring up at the school, it seemed big to him.

"Can't handle it, Squirt? Too much for you?" asked Gou to his younger cousin.

"I can handle it, it's just bigger than expected." said Luke with a small frown.

"Wait until you see the inside, Pal. It's a maze, you'll get lost and in so much trouble. This school is like those childhood nightmares where everywhere you turn is the wrong way." said Gou and smirked.

"Mummy!" whined Luke and grabbed Tari's leg. Tari glared at her nephew for scaring her son.

"Sorry, Luke. It isn't that bad really. I was just teasing." said Gou, feeling a little guilty for scaring his cousin.

"Where's your dad, Gou?" asked Katie, breaking the tension.

"I have a reputation here, Katie. You realise how wrecked that would be if Dad walked me to school?" said Gou.

"You have money, why don't you arrive in a limo?" asked Luke as his tears faded.

"A limo? I may be a rich kid, but get real, Luke." said Gou with a smirk.

"Well, I better get going to work. You two will be fine with Gou around. If I don't earn money, we know your dad won't." said Tari with a smile.

The twins chuckled. True their dad never worked hard for anything, though he did a little beyblade training with them, mostly Katie as her style was more like his.

"Bye, Mum." they both said with a wave. Tari waved back and left.

"We better get in. You two will enjoy it here, don't worry." said Gou.

The threesome headed inside when they saw a boy of about Gou's height jump down from a tree and pick his bag up.

"You know him?" asked Katie as Gou looked over at the boy.

"He's in my year I suppose, but I haven't paid much attention unless he's new." said Gou.

The other two just shrugged and headed inside.

* * *

Later, in an English class, Gou was sitting back in his chair as the teacher wasn't glancing her old eyes around. He was such a brainbox, but still had to do the work, which made him frown.

"_Why do I have to bother? I could be out winning more beybattles right now._" he said to himself and tilted his chair back on two legs and had his pencil in his mouth. He heard a noise and glanced over then quickly dropped his chair legs back down and caught his pencil from falling and pretended to write some more on his paper. He had done a page and a half as it was.

"Psst, hey You." said the boy in the seat next to him.

Gou ignored him at first, not keen to be caught talking to some amateur, but the boy tried any and all ways to get his attention.

"What?" Gou whispered back, but still getting his tone across.

"Sorry, Pal. Just wanted to chat as I'm so bored. I've done the work, like you seem to have, and the bat will only give us more if we tell her we're done." said the boy.

Gou smirked, the teacher was pretty old-looking and she was a fussy woman in his opinion. The kind of person him and his dad would certainly not listen to if it could be helped.

"What's your name, Pal?" whispered the boy.

Gou just glared, not about to give his name straight away. Instead he studied the boy's appearance: averagely long dark blonde hair over his shoulders and he had green eyes. Gou noticed they weren't quite as dark as his friends, Kyra and Alex's, mum.

"You got a name, or am I going to be talking to a stranger all day?" asked the boy.

He sighed. "Gou, and yours?" he asked.

"Jake. You have a unique look there, Gou. No offence, it's cool." said the boy.

Gou stared for a moment, did this kid not recognise him as son of _the_ Kai Hiwatari? If he didn't, he wasn't going to brag and tell him. Let him learn in his own time.

"Thanks, I guess." he said and looked to the clock. God, too long til lunch.

"Do you beyblade?" asked Jake, with a look of glee in his green eyes.

"Maybe." answered Gou and wondered if the kid was looking for a battle.

"I do, I'm great. I even have a bit beast and she's beautiful. She's so powerful too, she's an angel you know and her name is Aereon. I got her from my dad as he's moved on from the sport due to Mum not being as majorly interested in it as he was." explained Jake.

Gou stared in surprise again. Did Jake have no sense at all? He was bragging about his bit beast! If there was anything Kai taught Gou, it was to not brag about his power and bit beast.

"Aereon is awesome for sure though. No one will knock her down easily." said Jake and, in excitement, stood up and banged the light. Everyone turned to stare and Jake felt very embarrassed.

"Young Master Kinoshita, will you stop acting like a toddler and pay attention?" said the teacher in an angry tone.

"Yes, Miss." said Jake and sat back down grabbing a book to hide behind. Gou just chuckled to himself. This kid reminded him of what he had heard from his dad about Tyson, yet still seemed fairly cool.

"You're all right, Jake. I'll introduce you to my cousins later, they're a year younger than you and me." said Gou with a small smile.

"Sounds good, Pal." whispered Jake as to not get caught.

* * *

Later, after school, Jake walked with Gou some of the way home.

"That was a good day, well, minus that moment in English." said Jake, and Gou smirked.

"Yeah, it was okay. I'm glad my cousins had a good first day, especially since I scared Luke." said Gou.

Gou had introduced Jake to Luke and Katie at lunch. They all got on well, and Luke was much calmer about school, as expected he would be.

"That Katie was a nice girl." said Jake then whistled innocently as Gou glared slightly. "She got a boyfriend?" he asked innocently enough.

"Hn, no, and with Brooklyn as her dad, that may be a while, though he isn't as bad as my dad or my friends, Kyra and Alex's, dad." said Gou.

Jake stopped in his tracks and Gou kept walking for a second. "Um, Jake?" he asked.

"Brooklyn you said. Did you mean Brooklyn Kingston 'Brooklyn'?" asked Jake.

"Yes, I did." said Gou with a roll of the eyes. He had seen that coming a mile away.

"You're the nephew of Brooklyn Kingston? You incredible kid!" said Jake and lightly slapped a hand on Gou's shoulder. Gou raised an eyebrow so Jake let go apologising.

"Kyra and Alex's dad is Tala, and yes, _the_ Tala Valkov." said Gou. Jake went awestruck crazy and Gou sighed.

"How lucky are you? Nephew to Brooklyn, friends with Tala's children. What more do I need to know?" asked Jake.

"Not much." said Gou, deciding to keep who his father was quiet for a moment, but it wouldn't be for long.

"Whoa, look at that mansion buried in the trees over there." said Jake pointing.

"And this is where we cut off, as I head that way and your home is down that way, right?" asked Gou pointing to the other direction.

Jake ignored the question and stared at the mansion then at Gou. "You live in that?" he asked.

"Yeah." said Gou.

"But that's...Hiwatari Mansion." said Jake, then he thought about it at last and took in Gou's appearance again. "No...way! Oh my God! You are! You are the son of Kai!" he burst out.

"Now he gets it." said Gou with a smirk, yes, the Hiwatari smirk which made Jake laugh.

"The dual blue hair, violet eyes. How did I not notice it before?" he asked and slapped his forehead.

"I wonder." said Gou. "I'll catch ya tomorrow, Jake." he said as he set off down the road to his home.

"Yeah, see ya tomorrow." said Jake then smiled to himself. "_Oh man...I'm friends with Kai's son...wait til Dad hears this!_" he exclaimed to himself and ran down his path to his house cheering to himself and swinging off the trees in excitement.


	7. Friendship Develops

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 7: Friendship Develops

The following day in Russia, Tala was being pestered by his daughter Kyra to beybattle. She wouldn't leave him alone as she was so stubborn like himself.

"Dad, come on, don't be sore." said the young red head as she stood in front of her dad with her hands on her hips.

"Kyra, I'm sorry, but I am busy right now. Get Alex to play." said Tala and turned back to what he was doing.

"You used to have time for me, Dad. You're being unfair, it will only be a quick battle." she said and glared at her father through the dark green eyes so alike her mother's.

Tala looked up as he felt something boring into him and turned back round and his icy blue eyes met his daughter's eyes.

"Well, Dad? Will you battle me?" she asked and crossed her arms.

He didn't want to say no, but he felt like he had to.

"No, Kyra. I won't as I'm busy." he said.

Kyra's face fell and she looked very sad. Tala felt bad as he didn't like letting his daughter down.

"You are cold, Dad. So much for 'the best man in a girl's life is her dad'." said Kyra sadly and ran out of the room, her red hair swishing behind her.

Tala sighed and held his head in his hands. He didn't want to let her down like that. He heard footsteps and looked up to see Marina standing in the doorway.

"Tala." she said with seriousness in her voice.

"I'm sorry, Marina. I didn't want to upset Kyra." he replied.

"I know you didn't, but you shouldn't have turned her down. Your work can wait." she said.

Tala sighed. "Marina, I didn't want her being spoilt, that's why I did it." he said.

"Oh, Tala. She isn't spoilt and she knows it. She only wants to beybattle with her dad." she said.

Tala sighed again and Marina came over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Go have some fun with your daughter, Handsome." she said and smiled.

Tala smiled and gently pulled Marina down onto his lap.

"Okay, I will." he said then kissed Marina on the lips. She kissed back then stood up to let him up. He smiled and walked out of the room. "Hey, where's my little angel gone?" he called and soon found Kyra fiddling with a strand of her hair.

She looked up and then turned away from him. He came over to her.

"What's with the silent treatment? Do you want to show your old man what you can do or not?" he asked and when she looked up smiling, he nodded.

"Sure, Dad. You're going down." she said.

"Bring it on, Kyra." he said.

* * *

Over in Japan, Jake was walking up to the Hiwatari Mansion with a look of fear yet amazement on his face. He reached the big front doors and lifted the knocker and knocked three times. He waited a moment and a man opened the door.

"Uh, hi, is Gou in?" asked Jake as he looked up.

"The young master is occupied in his room. Who might you be?" the man asked.

"I'm a friend of his." answered Jake.

"Got some trouble?" asked a voice and the man turned.

"Not at all, Master Kai. Just a pesky child. I'll get him off the property." he answered.

"What's his name?" asked Kai curiously, as he had heard about his son's new friend and wondered if this kid was the same person.

Jake looked past the butler and his mouth fell open and he stared.

"You going to stand there all day staring, Kid, as I have other things to do." said Kai.

"Uh, no, sorry. My name is Jake...Jake Kinoshita." he replied.

"Gou's been talking about you a lot. Come on in." said Kai.

The butler moved aside and Jake entered and the door was closed behind him.

"Go on into the sitting room. Wait there and don't touch anything. I'll get Gou down." said Kai and he left upstairs to get his son.

Jake went into the sitting room and stared around. The room was beautiful and he was awed by it. He was also pretty amazed at being in the home of the famous Kai Hiwatari.

"Hi, Jake." said a voice. Jake turned around and smiled, it was Gou.

"Hey, Pal. How you doing?" he asked and walked up to Gou.

"Not too bad, you?" said Gou.

"Good." said Jake then took another look around the room.

"You like it, huh?" asked Gou with a small smirk.

"It's awesome, Gou. You're so lucky to live in a place like this." answered Jake.

The boys heard the door go again and heard a woman's voice.

"Hm, your mum home?" asked Jake.

"Don't Jake, please." said Gou then headed upstairs so Jake followed with a slight shrug.

* * *

Later on, Jake and Gou watched some tv in the sitting room while Tari, the woman from before, was saying goodbye to Kai.

"She seems nice." said Jake as he looked over at Tari then she and Kai walked by the room to the door.

"Yeah, she is." replied Gou.

Kai walked into the room a moment later and sat on the chair nearest the sofa where the two boys were.

"So, is she your mum, Gou?" asked Jake.

Gou didn't answer so Jake looked to Kai who shook his head.

"No, she isn't his mother. She's his aunt." he said.

Jake looked back to Gou. "Where is your mum, Gou?" he asked curiously.

Gou looked down slightly in sadness.

"So, the name Kinoshita. Where do I know that from?" asked Kai as he changed the subject.

Jake caught on to the change and said "I don't know, Mr. Kai."

Kai raised an eyebrow at what Jake just called him, but said to himself "_Maybe I do know someone with that name...oh well, it's no matter._"

* * *

Back in Russia, Kyra had battled Tala and beaten him. Marina had thought he let her win, but he swore he didn't.

"Yeah, Alex, I beat Dad." said Kyra as she retold the story to her brother for the third time.

"Well done, Sis." said Alex and smiled.

"My ol' dad's getting a little rusty." said Kyra with a smirk towards Tala.

"Less of the old." replied Tala as he smirked back.

Marina chuckled and said "Don't worry, Tala, you'll always be young in my eyes." then she kissed him.

Kyra looked to Alex and they both rolled their eyes and muttered "Parents."


	8. The Past Returns

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 8: The Past Returns

A few years later and now young Gou Hiwatari is thirteen years old: a teenager at last. He even had a new outfit he thought was more his style: a black t-shirt with a dark jacket and teal trousers, his shoes were black and red. He was not like any other teenager for sure, he was just like his father and becoming impossible for anyone to deal with, excluding his father of course.

"Gou, where are you now? Gou!" shouted Kai as he searched for his son round the mansion. "_Where is that kid?_" he asked himself impatiently.

He searched more and was starting to get annoyed.

"Gou Hiwatari, get here right now!" he ordered in a loud voice.

"I'm here, Father, no need to lose your rag." said a voice.

Kai turned to see his son standing against the wall with his arms crossed and smirking. He growled slightly and Gou chuckled.

"You are impossible..." started Kai, then Gou interrupted. "Like you, Dad." he said.

Kai frowned and pulled out his beyblade gear. "You're asking for it, Gou."

Gou smirked and pulled out his blade and launcher too then headed down to the basement with his father following him.

"_He can act like me...but can he blade like me?_" Kai asked himself with a small smile.

"_Now's the time to prove myself as a blader in my own right._" said Gou to himself.

The father-son pair stood in their launch positions. "3...2...1...let it rip!" they both shouted and released their blades into the dish.

"Okay, Dad, bring it on...unless it's been too long and you're rusted." said Gou with a confident smirk.

"Believe what you like, Gou, but I'm taking this battle and bringing you back down to Earth." said Kai.

The blue blade slammed into the dark blue blade and sent it flying back across the dish.

"Kaenna, what was that? Attack!" commanded Gou of his blade.

"Dranzer, Spiral Survivor." said Kai and the red phoenix rose to block the attack.

Gou frowned as his attack failed and said "Shriek of Power!"

From his dark blue blade shone a bright golden light and a beautiful golden phoenix rose and widened her wings then shrieked deafeningly.

Kai winced at the volume and covered his ears slightly. "Nice try, Gou, but that's fit for amateurs." he said.

Gou growled as he had beaten quite a few opponents with this move and his own father was telling him it was nothing more than a cheap trick basically.

"Blazing Gigs Tempest!" shouted Kai and the red phoenix widened his wings and feather daggers surrounded Gou's blade and forced it up against the wall and started to push against it creating frightening sparks.

"Kaenna, do something!" cried Gou desperately as a couple of sections of metal flew off his blade.

Kai lightly smirked, though he partly wanted his son to counterattack and win.

"Kaenna!" shouted Gou in panic and desperation.

There was a flash of light then his blade disappeared and re-appeared behind his father's. Kai stared in surprise as his blade went forward from the pushing force it had used and hit the wall, then Gou's blade slammed into it and made it stop spinning.

"Gou?..." asked Kai as he looked at his son who was breathing heavily and surprised at what he had done.

"I won." said Gou and caught his blade then blinked and shook his head to clear it.

"You got a name for your new attack, as it's a very clever move." asked Kai smirking.

"I'll call it Flash Teleport." said Gou as he smirked back. "And I'm sorry for being an overconfident pest I suppose." he added.

"Don't tell your aunt I said this, but you are my son and it was expected you would be like this." said Kai and both Hiwataris chuckled.

* * *

Over in Russia, in a small town in Siberia, there was a small warehouse-like building. The inside of it was filled with crates which contained lots of junk. Sat on one of these crates was a man with dual red/black hair, dressed in a red t-shirt with a black jacket over it. From the shoulders of the jacket were spikes, one on each shoulder. His trousers were of viridian colour and his shoes were dark brown. He was holding his beyblade which was red with shades of orange and had his head lowered deep in thought.

"_It's been so many years. Marina Valkov...you will be mine, I swear it._" he declared to himself and stood up. He lifted his head to show a pale face with light brown eyes. He was furious inside that Tala had married 'his girl'.

This was Pyro and he was a street blader: the worst one in Russia and maybe the world as he had a dangerous reputation for shattering innocent peoples' beyblades and having his way with the girls. He turned to look out a nearby barred window and frowned at the blizzard.

He sighed and then heard a smash and he turned quickly to see the window on the door broken and a hand reached through to unlock the door and then the person entered.

"Oh, this your place?" asked the person. She had long, black hair, dark blue eyes, pale skin: paler than Pyro's, a beyblade tattooed on her upper arm. She wore a short, black top with black trousers and her shoes were also black with a low heel. Her name was Venera and she had once caused trouble while working with her mother, Dr. K many years ago.

Pyro's eyes glanced over her and he lightly smirked. She looked like his type, but he still wanted Marina as his own.

"Well, you some sort of idiot or are you going to answer me?" she asked and her eyes seemed to stare daggers at Pyro, though he was more surprised she spoke like that to him. Did she not know who he was?

"This is my place so while you're here, you better watch what you say, Sweetheart." he said.

Venera frowned and said "Don't 'sweetheart' me, Pyro."

Pyro growled, no girl he had met before retorted to him. He was surprised she did know him and had still said it. He was too used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it.

"Why? You're a nice looking woman and I've decided I want you." said Pyro and his eyes focused on two parts of her body which made him smirk almost lustfully.

Venera growled and said "You're filthy. Is that all you think about? Getting sex?"

Pyro hn'd. "Not quite. I think of winning and being on top. I'm also after a certain someone to get some revenge." he said with a frown.

"I would like some revenge too." admitted Venera.

"It's Marina Valkov I want. She's my Babe and I'm going to kill that Valkov for taking her as his own." said Pyro with a growl.

"I want revenge on her too. I also want to take down Tarinfia Kingston." said Venera.

"Hm, really?" asked Pyro then circled Venera admiring her.

Venera nodded and kept an eye on him as she didn't trust him.

"Maybe we should work together." he suggested suggestively and came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder and slowly ran it down her arm.

Venera reacted instinctively and thrust her arm back so her elbow came into contact with his stomach. He groaned in pain and backed away then fell to his knees holding his arms around his middle.

"You're lucky I didn't hit you in your weak spot, Pyro." she said as she looked down at him with a venomous glare.

He growled and looked up at her. "So...what's your name then?" he asked.

"Venera." she answered simply.

"Fine. I can see you aren't easy, but I'm sure I will get you one day." he said with a slight smirk as he got back to his feet.

"Naive. Great, well, if I can get my revenge on Marina and Tari, I will work with you." she said.

"I don't care about Tarinfia, but if I get my Babe as mine and mine alone, then I can work with you." he said.

They shook hands with small smirks.

* * *

Back in Japan, Gou had been thinking of his new attack and was browsing the mansion's many rooms until he found a room he used to awe at when he was a little kid. A room full of old beyblade trophies his father had won.

"Dad was such an amazing beyblader." he said quietly as he read one of the plaques under a trophy.

He chuckled at an old record. It wasn't real gold or anything so he assumed Tyson, Max and Daichi made it as a joke. 'Most Stubborn Russian' it said.

"Cool." muttered Gou as he read a few more then saw an old photo under a book.

He admired the photo, it was very old and dusty. He blew on it and coughed a little then realised it was taken back when the Bladebreakers were a team and had won their first championships.

"Huh? That's Dad." he said as he stared at the photo more closely and admired what his father looked like when he was roughly fifteen years of age.

He stroked a finger on the photo and properly noticed the blue triangles that his father once wore.

"Wow, Dad, they look so cool. Hm, I wonder what the story behind them is." he said unaware that he didn't really want to know.

* * *

Later on, Kai was again wondering where his son was.

"Gou, now where are you?" he asked.

"Here, Father. What do you think?" asked Gou as he walked into the room.

Kai stared for a moment and took in what he was seeing. His son had only gone and painted blue triangles on his cheeks, just like the ones he himself used to have.

"Gou...why did you put those on?" he asked with a frown.

Gou's slight smile dropped as he figured he was in trouble so said slowly: "I found an old photo of you with them...and I thought they looked cool."

"If you knew why I had them and why your aunt used to have similar ones you wouldn't have dared put them on." said Kai.

Gou lowered his head slightly and said "Something to do with...the past I assume. Sorry, Dad, I'll get rid of them." he said and began to walk away.

Kai sighed slightly. "Gou, don't worry about it. They suit you anyway." he said. Gou turned back with a smile.

"They do? Thanks, Dad." he said.

"Just don't go thinking they make you tough because if you get in a mess, you can get out of it." said Kai.

"I can look after myself." said Gou and bent his arm in an arch to show his developing muscles. Kai laughed. "What?" asked Gou with a small frown.

"Nothing, Gou." he said, still smiling and he ruffled his son's hair and they both smirked a little.


	9. Like Father, Like Son

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 9: Like Father, Like Son

A year later at Gou's school, there was some trouble on the school's field concerning Luke, Katie and some other tough-acting teenagers.

"Hey, Kid, butt out, I was talking to your little friend." said one of the boys and tried to push Luke aside who was shielding Katie.

"She doesn't want to talk to you. I can't think who would either." retorted Luke bravely.

The boy frowned and grabbed hold of the front of Luke's outfit, which was so similar to his father, Brooklyn's, yet pale blue in colour.

"Okay, Kid, you want to be the 'protective older brother', you can, but it only results in you being put in the doghouse." the boy said then pulled his other fist back to punch. Luke looked scared now, when suddenly...the boy's arm was stopped by a hand taking hold of it.

"You think your fists make you a man?" asked a voice.

Luke opened his eyes, which he had closed in fear, while the boy turned round and they saw the dual blue hair and violet eyes of Gou Hiwatari.

"You going to protect this weakling and his pretty friend?" asked the boy to Gou.

"Yes, as they are my cousins." said Gou then his eyes narrowed dangerously and he added "They don't need a waste of space bothering them."

The boy looked scared and backed off. Gou's glare being hardened just made the boy run away.

"Thank you, Gou." said Katie as she came out from behind Luke.

"No need to thank me, Katie. He thinks he's so tough he just occasionally needs a reminder who _really_ is tough." said Gou with a smirk.

For her teenage years, Katie had a short t-shirt like her mother's, a red jacket with white stripes over it and she had blue jeans. In her ears she had gold earrings, one in each ear, and they resembled her father's single earring.

"Gou!" shouted a voice.

A teen with dark blonde hair, green eyes, a black t-shirt with a dinosaur on it, brown trousers and black trainers with white laces came running over excitedly.

"Jake." said Gou with a smile as he turned to face his friend.

"My father has arranged a little barbecue...party...thing and I was wondering if you and your cousins wanted to join in." said Jake.

"What do you guys think?" asked Gou to Luke and Katie.

"I'm cool with it." said Luke.

"Luke, Dad said Marina and Tala are coming round remember?" said Katie.

"Oh yeah. Well...maybe they can come along to this get-together too." said Luke.

As Luke and Katie discussed things, Jake turned to Gou and smiled.

"What?" asked Gou.

"Nothing, Pal. You just really look so cool with that face paint." said Jake.

Gou smirked and Jake chuckled.

* * *

Later on, Jake was talking to his parents and uncle to make sure things were sorted.

"Dad, you know them, so we can't go into flimsy stuff." he said.

"Oh, Jake, I helped them in one regional against some evil dudes known as Radiation X before you were even born. It has been a long time and I'm sure their tastes have changed." said a blonde man.

"Well, maybe Tala, Marina and Brooklyn, but the Hiwataris haven't." said Jake.

"Nick, he may be right. From what I've heard of your friends, they were stubborn and tough. At least re-think on the pink tablecloth." said a woman who had long, blonde hair.

"Okay, Serafina, my love, I will change that." said the man named Nick and he kissed the woman.

"Uncle!" whined Jake at the other man in the room.

"Come on you two, you are like teenagers." said the man. "Especially you, Sis, you don't want to embarrass your son either."

Serafina broke off the kiss with Nick and said "Okay, Rick. Take it easy, you are a typical older brother."

Rick rolled his eyes then they heard the guests arrive, so Jake ran out to do greetings.

"Why did you bring me here, Gou?" asked Kai as he looked round the Kinoshita household.

"Kai, don't be a sour-puss and ruin this." said Tari as she overheard Kai.

Kai hn'd and the group headed in.

"Hey, Gou, over here." said Jake with a wave to get Gou's attention.

"Hey, Jake, this your folks?" asked Gou.

"Hello, young Gou, you do look a lot like your father." said Nick as he shook hands with the young Hiwatari.

"Thanks, though I've heard that before." said Gou.

Nick chuckled and looked up at Kai.

"Hello, Kai, it's been a long time."

"Yeah it has, Nick."

Tari came over and said "You must be Nick, wow it's been a long time."

"Tarinf...I mean Tari, so sorry." said Nick.

Tari lightly frowned then smiled. "No worries, Nick."

Tala and Marina watched and smiled as their teens joined Luke and Katie.

"You guys hear about the regional next year in Japan?" asked Luke to Alex and Kyra.

Alex was now wearing a black t-shirt with BEYBLADE in yellow letters on it and bluey green trousers. He had a chain from the waistline to a pocket. Kyra had a green t-shirt and the straps went around her upper arms instead of her shoulders and her trousers were black with a purple stripe down each leg.

"I heard a little mention." said Kyra, but Alex shook his head.

"Well, the next one is next year anyway, so if you're interested, you now know." said Luke.

Jake and Gou came over to join the others. Gou's eyes locked on Kyra for a moment, but he blinked and kept a normal look.

"You going on about that regional? The one I can't enter." said Jake.

"You can't? Why not?" asked Gou suddenly.

"Not sure actually, but I bet you'll be in it." he said with a smile.

Gou chuckled, but didn't give a straight answer.

* * *

Tari, meanwhile, had properly noticed Gou's triangles and wanted to talk to Kai about them.

"Okay, Kai, you want to explain something to me?" she asked with her arms crossed.

Kai looked up, truthfully confused so she sighed in annoyance.

"Gou's face paint." she said.

"Oh, that. Tari, listen to me, he saw a photo of me with them and thought they looked cool so decided to wear them himself." explained Kai.

"He thought they looked cool? That's the best you can say. Kai, don't you remember what we went through...and when we were marked...?" she asked him with her tone dropping at the end.

Kai looked down slightly and said "Of course I remember. They were a couple of the worst days in our lives, but Gou isn't wearing them to upset us and he has no malicious intentions, he just likes how they look."

Tari sighed and said "Well, I won't say I'm happy with it, but I'll let off."

Kai nodded and they turned to watch the teens' discussions on the next regional.

* * *

"Gou, do you want to battle? Right now?" asked Jake.

Gou looked up surprised.

"Well, if you can't be in the tournament, then sure." he said.

They stood by a beydish and released their blades.

"Go, Cous!" shouted Luke and Katie simultaneously.

"Do your best, Jake. Show us all, Gou." shouted Alex and Kyra who were cheering both on.

"Kaenna!" shouted Gou and the golden phoenix rose from the dark blue blade.

"Right, now prepared to be amazed: Aereon!" shouted Jake and a white skinned angel with golden wings in a long pale blue dress rose from the white blade.

"Beautiful..." muttered Gou as he stared up at the angel.

"Awe at the beauty and power my Aereon possesses. Release Heaven's Light!" shouted Jake.

The angel's eyes widened and a blinding flash of white light covered the area.

"No...I can't see." said Gou as his eyes were closed shut and stinging from the light.

"Poor Gou, go Gold Shine!" shouted Jake.

Aereon's gold wings widened and feathers shot out at Kaenna's weak spots and the phoenix shrieked in pain.

"Whoa...um, Jake, maybe you should cool it down some." said Nick and he noticed that even Kai was shocked and maybe concerned at his son's struggle.

"Shriek of Power!" shouted Gou and the phoenix shrieked so Jake covered his ears.

"Ah, that's loud. Nice trick you got there." said Jake then gasped as his blade was sent spinning backwards across the dish.

"Can't handle a little volume. Poor Jakey, poor kid." mocked Gou.

On the sidelines, Kai growled as he had taught his son better than to mock and made a note to give him a piece of his mind for it later.

"Don't mock me, Gou. Don't." warned Jake.

Gou raised an eyebrow. "Why, going to make your angel grant me a wish?" he mocked again.

Jake started to growl and he shouted out in anger. As he did, Aereon's skin turned grey, her wings turned black and her long dress turned red.

"What the...?" everyone said as they stared.

"Jake, what is that?" asked Gou.

"Let me introduce you to Dark Aereon. She emerges when I get angry in battle and she will now finish this and so: Angel's Revenge!" Jake shouted.

"Jake, no!" shouted Serafina tearfully.

A black tornado emerged as Dark Aereon spun around very fast. It struck Kaenna continuously until Gou's blade came to a complete stop.

"Okay, Jake, now stop!" shouted Nick.

Jake sighed and Dark Aereon went back to normal then back into her bit piece.

"Wow..." said Kyra as she watched Gou pick up his blade.

"Jake should be in the regional." said Luke in awe.

"No, Son, he shouldn't. That Dark Aereon is dangerous, he needs to learn control." said Brooklyn.

"That's why I didn't want him in the regional. I used to own Aereon you see, and I got angry and used Dark Aereon. I knew, when I passed her down to Jake, he would get angry in battle too so I wanted him to master that before entering a professional tournament." explained Nick.

"I wonder who the defending champ for the regional is." said Luke as he changed the subject.

"You just watched him battle." said Gou with a smirk.

"You, Cous?" said Luke stunned and, everyone who didn't already know, faced Gou.

Gou nodded and then Jake came over. "I'm sorry, my friend. Now I know exactly why I'm not allowed in the regional. I will attempt mastering Dark Aereon."

"I forgive you, Jake." said Gou.

Both friends smiled and the other teens and their parents chuckled slightly.


	10. The Qualifier

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 10: The Qualifier

It has been a year and now the regional tournament is about to begin. The families had all arrived, the teens were in the locker rooms preparing for the matches while their parents, and whoever else not participating, sat in the stands and waited for the event to begin.

"This is going to be good." said Nick as he sat next to his son in the stands.

"It sure will, I can't wait til the big matches start." said Jake.

The lights dimmed and a single spot light focused on a platform which rose with DJ Jazzman and he began to announce the tournament.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Seaside Dome in Japan for this year's Regional Tournament!" he shouted and the crowd cheered. "Last year we saw some amazing action, attacks like we haven't seen in many, many years, and now the time has come to see more of that action and to find the answer to this question: Will any of our participants defeat our current champion, Gou, who is himself son of a previous champion: Kai!"

The crowd cheered and up in the stands, Kai smiled as it had been many years since he had been in a tournament yet lots of people still admired him.

"The tournament qualifying round is divided into five blocks known as: Block A, Block B, Block C, Block D and Block E. Block A is an exhibition round and the members in it have to test their mettle on our undefeated champ!" Jazzman continued.

The crowd cheered again and from one of the arena entrances walked out Gou with a serious look in his eyes and, from the entrance opposite him, walked out a small group of young teens. They all looked really nervous and not very confident, for most of them this was the first time in front of a crowd as well.

"These kids don't stand a chance." said Tala to Marina in the stands.

"True. It's almost possible to feel sorry for them going against Gou first." she said and they turned back to the arena floor.

Jazzman looked between Gou and the group of kids and said "So, bladers in position, then 3...2...1...let it rip!"

Gou released his dark blue blade and it landed perfectly in the middle of the dish. The other kids' blades circled his, some wobbling already from a shaky launch.

"Attack!" shouted one boy and his blade broke off from the circle and charged towards the centred blade.

"Kaenna, stop him in his tracks." said Gou. His dark blue blade just moved a centimetre and tapped the blade coming towards it and sent it flying out.

"Oh my...he's a real champ all right." muttered the boy as he picked up his blade.

"Well, what did you think, Pal? He is son of a master." said another boy as his blade joined the other one out of the dish.

Gou crossed his arms and glanced around the arena a little bored. He closed his eyes and moved his head to the side as a blade flew out over his shoulder.

"Kaenna, end this." he said in a bored tone and his dark blue blade glowed golden and sped up so it smashed through each blade like a lightning bolt: one after the other came to a stop or flew out.

Soon after, the dark blue blade was the only one still spinning at centre-dish.

"Annnnd it's done! Block A is finished and our champion is still at the top!" shouted Jazzman and the crowd cheered. Gou had his arms crossed and was smirking then he looked up into the stands to see his father smiling proudly.

"He can sure blade like you, Kai." said Tala as he watched Gou soaking in all of the crowds' cheers.

Kai just chuckled lightly and they prepared for the start of Block B.

* * *

In the locker room, Alex was talking to Kyra about the tournament.

"Anyone you want to battle, Sis?" he asked her.

"Katie maybe and of course, the champ." she answered.

"I'd like to battle Gou, that'd be so cool." he said in agreement.

"And Block B is about to begin, all bladers make your way to the main arena." came Jazzman's voice.

"Well, I'm up. Wish me luck, Sis." said Alex.

"Good luck, not that you need it, you'll win easily." said Kyra with a smile.

Alex smiled and left the room and walked with the other kids to the arena.

"And now for Block B. Bladers in position? Good, let's begin in 3...2...1...let it rip!" shouted Jazzman.

Alex released his brown blade and it circled the dish with the others.

"The blades have been released. Oh, that one needs some help." said Jazzman.

"DJ is right, that blade is bamboozled greatly!" said the voice of the co-commentator, AJ Topper.

The said blade, which was green in colour, soon spun round in a weird direction and collided into a purple blade and both of them went out, making the owner of the purple blade whine at the owner of the green blade for a while before they picked up their blades.

"Take a look at that blade, AJ, it's burning the dish." said the commentator, Brad Best.

"It sure is." said AJ in agreement.

The brown blade was beating opponents left, right and centre and Alex chuckled as every blade that went out brought him closer to winning.

"Go, Centaurius!" shouted Alex and his blade rushed through the others and the round finished.

"Block B is done and dusted. Give it up for Alexander Valkov!" shouted Jazzman.

The crowd cheered and some discussed how the name Valkov might be connected to the world famous blader: Tala.

"He did so well." said Marina happily as she watched her son take in the praise from the crowd.

Tala nodded and smiled down at his son.

* * *

Back in the locker room, Luke was talking to Katie.

"Hey, Bro, you'll be okay. Just focus on the gameplay." advised Katie.

Luke nodded, though he was nervous.

"Members in Block C, make your way to the arena!" came Jazzman's voice.

Luke looked up shaking slightly and headed outside.

"Good luck, Luke." Katie called after him.

In the arena, Luke looked up at the cheering crowds and started to shake like a leaf then saw his parents and told himself to use what they had taught him.

"You think Luke will be okay? He looks so nervous." said Tari to Brooklyn.

"He'll be fine, it's just the first reactions to being in an arena in front of a crowd of people." said Brooklyn, and Tari nodded though she was still unsure.

"Bladers in position, okay, so 3...2...1...let it rip!" shouted Jazzman.

The blades were released. Luke's white blade landed at the edge of the dish and spun down the side of it. He sighed and looked down slightly thinking that perhaps he shouldn't have entered the tournament.

"That kid looks down. Hope he isn't taking this too seriously as not everyone can win." said AJ.

"Oh, Luke, fight back!" Tari shouted down, hoping to get through to her son.

Blades went flying out as a sudden blue flash alerted everyone's attention.

"And wow...look at that, it looks like Gou's blade has joined in." said AJ.

Luke looked up suddenly and across the dish stood his cousin, Gou.

"Cous?" he asked.

"Hi, Luke, give me a moment and we can have a little one-on-one." said Gou.

Gou's dark blue blade flashed from blade to blade, and Luke made his white blade knock the others out until it was just the two of them.

"Okay, Tari, let's see what Luke has." said Kai to his sister.

"Hn, Luke can handle Gou." she said in response.

"What a show, we are in the qualifier and we have our champion, Gou Hiwatari versus..." Jazzman started then checked the list of participants. "Luke Kingston...and yes, son of the strongest blader these tournaments have seen: Brooklyn Kingston!" Jazzman finished and the crowd cheered.

"Kaenna, attack!" shouted Gou and his dark blue blade started to push against the white blade.

"Bazuki, don't let him push you around." said Luke.

A golden lion with a shining white mane and tail tip emerged from the white blade and started to push the dark blue blade back. Gou growled.

"Kaenna, emerge and use Shriek of Power!" the young dual bluenette shouted.

The golden phoenix rose from her bit piece and shrieked very loudly, making the majority of the audience wince and cover their ears.

"Whoa...what a move!" shouted DJ, though he couldn't clearly be heard over the echoing shriek.

"Ahh, no fair, Cous!" screamed Luke as he held his hands over his ears and lowered his head wincing slightly.

"Kai, that move is a cheap trick, didn't you teach your son better?" Tari said to Kai angrily.

"It's a good move, Tar. Not every blader falls for it, as it doesn't bother me, so Luke just needs to develop on some skills." said Kai.

"Luke, the move actually is fair and I'm taking this round. Kaenna, attack!" said Gou.

His dark blue blade charged forwards and smashed the white blade out before it could defend.

"What a match, such a disappointment to our rookie, but a big break to the defending champion as he moves on to the semi-finals!" announced Jazzman.

"Poor Luke, but he did well." said Tari.

Kai smiled at Gou making it to the next round and he was happy with his nephew for giving a good show.

* * *

An hour later, after Kyra had won Block D and Katie won Block E, the crowd cheered as the semi-finalists were now arranged.

"And there we have it, weren't they awesome qualifiers? Tomorrow we will have the semi-finals, starting with Alexander Valkov going up against our current champion, Gou Hiwatari. Once that is decided, we will have Kyra Valkov testing her mettle against Katie Kingston! So, until then, let it rip!" DJ announced.

* * *

The families went to the locker room to meet their children and discussed the tournament so far.

"Great work making it to the semis...both of you." said Marina to Alex and Kyra as they came over.

"No problem, Mum, we did our best and today, our best was enough." said Alex.

"Well done, Kyra." said Tala.

"Thanks, Dad. This tournament is pretty fun." she said and smirked slightly.

Luke looked up nervously as Tari and Brooklyn came over.

"It's okay, Luke. You did well. Gou is tough, but you impressed a lot of people...and us." Tari said.

"Really?" asked Luke as he looked up.

"Of course, Son. You made your father proud." said Brooklyn and ruffled his son's hair.

"Dad, come on." whined Luke as he tried to sort his now-messed up hair.

Katie rolled her eyes slightly, but smiled as she was proud of her brother, plus she was in the semis and would face Kyra tomorrow.

"I'm in the semis again, Dad. I'm going to be champ again, I can taste it." said Gou excitedly then Kai cuffed his head. "What was that for?" he asked annoyed.

"Don't get cocky, Gou. What have I taught you? I taught you not to mock, which you learnt after that battle with Jake last year. I taught you not to be overconfident and cocky as that will more likely make you mess up." said Kai.

"Yes, Dad, I get it." said Gou then walked off with a small smirk at doing so well.

Kai looked over at Tala and smirked. Tala smirked back as the next day, it would be their sons battling each other...


	11. Semi Tricks

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

**Note: Sorry for late update as I usually get done on Thursdays, but a couple of personal issues got in the way...so yeah, but here is Chapter 11 at last.**

Chapter 11: Semi Tricks

The next day had arrived and people were flooding the stadium to watch the semi-finals and see who the finalists would be. Arriving to the stadium via helicopter was DJ Jazzman and once everyone was settled in, he began to announce the day's match-ups.

"Welcome back to the Seaside Dome here in Japan for the next round of our regional tournament. You've seen the qualifiers, bladers who tried their best though only four made it through to the semi-finals!" he shouted and the crowd cheered.

"He's raking it in again. Boring." whined Luke and sat back in his seat next to Tari and flipped through the pages of a book.

"And so, our starting semi-finalists will be: returning champion, Gou Hiwatari!..." the crowd cheered. "And Alexander Valkov!" the crowd cheered again. "The two bladers have fifteen minutes to prepare for their match." Jazzman finished.

* * *

Over in one of the locker rooms, Alex polished off his brown beyblade as Kyra stood to the side and watched.

"Are you really ready, Alex?" she asked.

"Yes, Sis. I can handle Gou and I am going to make it to the finals. Perhaps you will too and we can battle it out." Alex replied with a smile.

"That would be cool. I'd beat you though and I will make it as one of the rare female champions." she said happily.

Alex smirked slightly and then stood up and headed for the arena.

"Alex." Kyra called after him.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Do your best and don't hurt Gou." she said.

"I won't hurt him, don't panic, Kyra." he replied and smiled slightly.

* * *

Over in another locker room, Gou was doing one last tweak on his defence ring when he heard the door open.

"Gou, glad I found you...you looking forward to this one?" asked Jake quietly as he sat next to Gou.

"You shouldn't even be in here, Jake. This area is for participants only." said Gou, ignoring Jake's question.

"That's why I sneaked in, now come on, answer the question before I get discovered and kicked out." whispered Jake.

Gou sighed. "Yeah, I am going to enjoy it. Alex and his Centaurius cannot handle my Kaenna." he said with a smirk as he examined his bit piece.

"Kaenna is powerful all right, I'm looking forward to seeing how much more she can do." said Jake.

The door opened.

"Hey, Kid, you shouldn't be in here. All spectators should be in the stands." said a tournament official.

"Ooh bummer..." whispered Jake to himself. "Catch ya later, Gou. Blade like a champ." he said and ran out past the official who groaned to himself and muttered "Kids, think they can do anything and go anywhere." then he walked away too.

"_I will blade like a champ. I can't do any less than that. I come from Hiwatari ancestry on my father's side._" said Gou to himself and stood up, then headed for the arena.

"And now, it is time to start the first semi-final. Introducing the bladers: from Russian and Japanese descent, with an attitude and power of a thousand tanks, give it up for Gou Hiwatari, our defending champion!" shouted DJ.

Gou emerged into the arena and the crowd went crazy. The girls in particular screamed for the younger dual bluenette who lightly smiled. He quite easily accepted fangirls though there were limits to how much he accepted them. He did notice his father in the crowd and gave him a smile before heading for the dish.

"And his opponent, also of Russian and Japanese descent. He's blonde haired, blue eyed and a force to be reckoned with: Alexander Valkov!" continued DJ.

Alex entered the arena and the crowd gave him their support. He looked up into the crowd and saw his parents. He noticed that Katie wasn't in the stands with her parents and so assumed she was in the locker room preparing for her match with Kyra, he lightly frowned, but no one noticed.

"And now, to reveal the dish..." continued DJ and the covering was pulled back to reveal a dish with many hills and tight gaps between them. One hill in particular was like a ramp and had a long drop at the end of it.

"Wowie, Seaside Dome rarely uses a trick dish, but they've outdone themselves, wouldn't you say so Brad?" asked AJ.

"I totally agree, those tight gaps could make for a real squeeze-play and the ramp could be a quick way of ending a long match." said Brad.

"The Hillside Dish!" shouted Jazzman.

The crowd cheered. Alex didn't like this as Gou could use those tight gaps easily with his fancy moves. Gou himself wasn't sure about the ramp, but liked the tight gaps.

"Bladers in position? Good, so 3...2...1...let it rip!" shouted DJ.

The blades were released. Gou's dark blue blade landed on a hill and slid down the side almost how a mountain-skier would and headed for Alex's blade. The brown blade had landed next to a hill and was zigzagging through the tight gaps best it could to reach the blue blade.

"Contact at last!" shouted DJ as the blue blade slammed round a corner and knocked the brown blade back, surprising Alex.

"Nice one, Gou." Alex said with a small smile as his blade regained balance.

"Thank you...but I'm not done yet!" said Gou and his blue blade started to slam the brown blade, pushing it back and sparks flew from the friction.

Alex panicked and shouted: "Centaurius, emerge and use Cen Smash!"

The brown blade glowed as a half human, half horse emerged from the bit piece. His human half had slightly tanned skin with brown hair and a brown beard. The horse half was black with a golden tail and his hooves were silver. He raised his front legs and brought them crashing down on the dish floor making the whole arena shake.

"Whoa, nice move there, Alex." said Gou as he regained balance and watched his blade do the same.

Up in the stands, Tala smirked and turned to Kai.

"You see that Gou will not be a two time champ." he said.

Kai growled. "Wait and see, Valkov. Gou isn't finished yet." he replied.

"Excuses. Can't admit your son is going to get beat by mine." said Tala.

Kai growled again, but ignored the immature red head and watched the battle play out.

"Centaurius!" shouted Alex and his brown blade forced the blue one up the hill with the ramp. Gou was cornered. "No way out, Gou." he added with a smirk.

"You think so?" said Gou and he smirked. Alex raised an eyebrow when... "Kaenna, Flash Teleport!" shouted Gou.

The blue blade disappeared in a flash of gold light and reappeared behind the brown blade.

"No, defend quick, Centauri..." started Alex, but...

"Finish him!" shouted Gou. The blue blade charged forwards and sent the brown blade off the hill's ramp so it landed with a smash in the rocks and not spinning anymore.

"It's over! Gou Hiwatari takes the round and goes to the finals!" announced Jazzman.

The crowd cheered and Tala was growling with his fists clenched.

"Who did you think was going to win, Tala?" asked Kai with an almost teasing smirk.

"Shut up, Kai." said Tala and frowned.

"Next match is Kyra Valkov against Katie Kingston. See you back here in half an hour." said Jazzman.

* * *

In half an hour's time, the stadium was back to 100% full and waiting for the second semi-final.

"Okay, so we have one finalist, now we need his opponent. Who will threaten Gou's title? Kyra Valkov or Katie Kingston?" announced Jazzman.

From one entrance emerged the teen red head and she smiled as the crowd cheered. There were also a few wolf-whistles in the crowd which made Tala growl under his breath.

"_I can do this._" Kyra said to herself as she held her blade tightly and walked towards the dish.

From the entrance opposite emerged the orange haired girl. She smiled a little nervously up at the crowd, but upon seeing her parents' faces and the encouraging smile from her brother, she felt braver and headed for the dish.

"And now, let's reveal the dish for the second semi..." said Jazzman.

The cover was pulled back to reveal a garden of sorts, almost like a National Park type garden. There were miniature trees and bushes and a wide expanse of water, like a mini-river.

"Whirlpool Paradise!" shouted Jazzman.

The crowd muttered, Kyra and Katie looked confused and, in the stands, Tala said "What gimp named a dish that?"

"Must be more to it than meets the eye." said Marina. Tari nodded as she heard what Marina had said.

"And so, in 3...2...1...let it rip!" shouted DJ.

The blades were released. Katie's black blade landed on the grass near the water and spun in place as she waited for her opponent. Kyra's white blade zigzagged through the trees and across the water and met the black blade and they pushed against each other.

"Feel the power and grace of Senera!" said Kyra and her blade glowed as a white swan rose from the bit.

The crowd awed and sighed at the beauty of the bird as it glowed so brightly.

"That's quite pretty, Kyra. Let me introduce you to Marati." said Katie. Her black blade glowed as well as a red dragon with red wings rose from the bit and roared at the swan.

"She's cool, Katie. Show me what she can do." goaded Kyra.

In the stands, Brooklyn turned to Tari. "This should be good." he said.

"As long as Katie does her best, it doesn't matter who wins." said Tari, and she smiled towards Marina.

"I agree, Tar. If the girls both give it their all, then it'll be great anyway." Marina said.

"You two seem able to be civil about it." said Brooklyn with a chuckle.

"We aren't immature like a certain two." said Tari and her glance flashed over Kai and Tala who both hn'd and frowned.

Back in the dish, the black blade charged into the white blade as the dragon's claws tried to catch either the swan's chest or wings.

"Kyra, feel this: Flame Vortex!" shouted Katie.

The crowd gasped as a black vortex spun behind Marati with a red fire surrounding it. It started to pull the white blade in and the smell of burning metal filled the stadium.

"Who recognises this move?" shouted Brad excitedly.

"No, Brad, this is a different move than King of Darkness. The vortex is similar, yes, but everything else is completely new." said AJ.

"Oh, okay." said Brad.

"Nice one, Katie, but you forgot something. Swan Spin!" shouted Kyra.

The swan spun around and created a shield of white feathers which protected her from the hot vortex.

"Oh no..." muttered Katie.

Suddenly a splash rose up from the centre of the water and a whirlpool started to form.

"And there it is...that's the trick in this 'trick' dish!" shouted Jazzman.

Kyra smirked as the water started to cool off Katie's flaming vortex.

"Finish her, Senera!" she shouted.

The swan used the water from the rising whirlpool to quickly head towards Katie's blade and there was a flash of light blinding them all for a second. As the whirlpool fell and the water remained calm again, it was revealed the black blade was down and the white blade still spinning strong.

"What a battle! And our second finalist is: Kyra Valkov!" shouted Jazzman.

Kyra smiled and crossed her arms as the crowd cheered, clapped and...the boys wolf-whistled down at her. In the stands, Marina smiled happy and Tala smirked slightly.

"And so, our semi-finals are finished. Join us tomorrow for the finale of a lifetime: Gou Hiwatari vs. Kyra Valkov! Let it rip." said Jazzman.

* * *

Later, before the guys separated off, Kyra came over to Gou.

"Hey, Gou, good luck tomorrow. May the best blader win." she said and held out a hand.

"Oh don't worry, _he_ will." he replied with a smirk and shook her hand.

She lightly smirked back and when Kai walked away to see what Tala wanted, she gave Gou a proper smile and they locked eyes for a few moments.

"Kai, you won the battle when Gou beat Alex, but I'll win the war." said Tala with a smirk.

"I seriously doubt it, Tala." replied Kai.

Tala growled and said "So much overconfidence is a real downside."

"You want to start something, Valkov?" Kai retorted in an annoyed tone.

He had been patient with Tala all day and there was a line...which Tala just crossed.

"No, but you sure seem to." said Tala.

The two Russians began an argument right there and then. The teens, including Gou and Kyra, who had broken their gazes at each other, looked up at Tari, Marina and Brooklyn who were rolling their eyes.

"Things will never change." said Tari and Marina together. The others chuckled slightly.


	12. Young Love

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 12: Young Love

In the Seaside Dome in Japan, the stands were full of people waiting for the finale of the regional tournament to begin at last.

"Ladies and gentlemen, beyblading fans of all ages, welcome back! Yesterday we saw the semi-final action and it was intense, but had to end, though now we have two...and only two...finalists. Give it up for our defending champion, Gou Hiwatari and his opponent: Kyra Valkov!" shouted Jazzman as he announced the match.

In the stands, Tala turned his head to glance at Kai who glanced back and they both smiled before turning back to face the arena.

"This will be a great match." said Marina and she smiled to Tari who nodded.

* * *

Over in a locker room, Jake had sneaked his way in again as he wanted to talk to Gou.

"Hey, Gou." he whispered.

Gou looked up from his thinking. "You're sneaking around again." he said with a smirk.

"Yeah, what do you think of this battle?" asked Jake, still in his quiet voice.

"Should be a worthy battle. I think I'll enjoy it." said Gou.

Jake put on a sneaky smile and said "You will, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Gou asked, slightly irritated.

"Don't try to hide it, Gou. You like Kyra and you know it." said Jake.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Jake. I'm not interested." said Gou.

"Sure you aren't." said Jake with a chuckle and left the locker room to get back to his parents to watch the match.

Gou lightly growled and rolled his eyes as the door closed behind Jake.

"_That twerp thinks he's so right...well, maybe he is, but he doesn't need to know that._" he thought to himself and smirked as he stood up to head to the arena.

* * *

Over in another locker room, Kyra was getting ready for her battle and Alex was with her.

"You've made it to the final, Kyra. Isn't it awesome?" he asked with a smile.

"Yeah, Bro, it's great. I hope to be a champion, but even if I lose this match, it doesn't matter as it will be fun and I will have done my best." she answered.

"You're already a champ in our parents' eyes." said Alex.

Kyra smiled and stood up.

"Don't hurt your boyfriend." he taunted as she walked past him.

She looked back slightly with a frown. Alex smirked and so didn't notice Kyra's faint blush.

* * *

In the arena, the crowd wanted action and it was obvious. They were shouting for Jazzman to introduce the bladers and the dish they'd be in today.

"Okay, we've kept you waiting long enough. First make sure you're not desperate, not hungry and not thirsty, as this finale will get you so excited you won't be able to hold on for the expected length of the match!" shouted Jazzman and the crowd whooped to show they were indeed ready. "Okay, first up, with a reputation greater than my announcing, welcome our defending champion, Gou!"

The crowd cheered as the young dual bluenette walked towards the centre of the arena. He had an emotionless face on as he wasn't paying attention to the crowd's screams or the fangirls yelling for him.

"And his opponent, she has shown a nice level of skill and ability and she is a bit of a catch for those young lads, give it up for Kyra!" continued Jazzman.

From the entrance opposite Gou walked out Kyra and she looked up at him and they briefly locked eyes as she walked up to centre-arena, then they waited for Jazzman to reveal the dish.

"And the dish for today..." started Jazzman and the covering was pulled back to reveal a very windy dish with one end shaped as a snake's head and the other end looking like a snake's tail. Around the outside of the dish were vertical bars which were connected to each in the circle. "Introducing the Cobra Dish!" finished Jazzman.

"This looks neat-o, good job you covered this one with us, Dad. Gou is at a disadvantage." said Alex confidently to Tala.

Kai overheard that and hn'd as he knew his son wouldn't get overcome by something as lame as a simple dish design.

"So, bladers ready? Then in 3...2...1...let it rip!" shouted Jazzman.

Gou's dark blue blade landed on one of the higher layers of the windy snake and smiled as he waited for Kyra's blade. Her white blade knocked against one of the higher layers and landed off balance on a lower layer.

In the stands, Alex sighed and said "Okay, maybe Kyra forgot her lessons..."

"She better not have. This is important." said Tala.

"Oh, switch off your serious circuits and have some fun." said Brooklyn then got slapped by Tari. "What was that for?" he asked with a frown.

"Tala and circuits, Brooklyn." she said and frowned back.

Brooklyn realised and kicked himself inside as he apologised to Tala, but Tala just nodded in understanding.

Back in the dish, the blue blade sped up and charged towards the white blade.

"Senera, defend!" Kyra shouted.

As her blade glowed, Gou's blade came to a stop right in front of it.

"Gou, what's wrong? What are you doing?" she asked in slight concern as she raised an eyebrow and the shield dropped round her blade.

"That was lame, Kyra, you really shouldn't have bought that." said Gou and his blade sped forwards again, knocking Kyra's down another level.

In the stands, Tala growled and turned to Kai. "That was a cheap trick, Kai!"

"Why round on me? I didn't do it, he did." said Kai simply, though he wasn't proud of his son using a cheap trick.

"It was a bit cheap, but a nice strategy move too." said Tari, and Tala gave her a look that clearly said he thought she was siding with Kai so she rolled her eyes.

In the dish, Kyra's blade sped up to get back to Gou's blade and when it reached it, hit it hard so it went flying back and ricocheting off the scaled walls that represented the snake's body.

"Not bad, Kyra." Gou said as his blade regained balance.

"Thanks, Gou." said Kyra and she looked at him and he looked back and their eyes met briefly until they heard their blades collide.

In the stands, Tala and Kai both frowned slightly, but hadn't noticed anything in particular.

"Blinding Feather!" shouted Kyra and Senera rose from her bit piece and used her feathers to create a blinding white light.

Gou closed one eye and half-closed the other and shouted "Kaenna, Shriek of Power!"

The golden phoenix rose from her bit and shrieked loudly, so both bladers were disadvantaged as Gou was blinded and Kyra was deafened.

"Whoa, what a combination: blinded by the swan and deafened by the phoenix!" shouted Jazzman.

"Attack!" shouted Gou.

His blue blade hit the white one and it went flying into the bars around the dish and bounced back in, landing on top of the snake's head.

"Phew, now..." started Kyra, but Gou interrupted.

"Finish this by using your Nova Sphere as an attack!" and he smirked as he said it.

Kaenna shrieked as she was surrounded by a ball of golden flame and she crashed into the swan, continuously striking it until it returned to its bit and the white blade stopped spinning.

"And it's all over...Gou has won and has kept his title, so regional champion for the second time, Gou Hiwatari!" announced Jazzman.

The crowd cheered louder than ever and Gou smiled as he took in their praise. Kyra collected her blade and gave him a small smile too before returning to the locker room.

In the stands, Tala was frowning slightly, though he was proud of his daughter doing so well in the tournament.

"Tala, don't worry about it, there's always next year." said Kai and he was smirking slightly.

* * *

Later on, before the families left back to their hotels to get ready to leave the following evening, Gou came down to the other locker room and found Kyra about to rejoin her parents.

"Kyra." he said.

She turned and saw him. "Hi, Gou. Congratulations on your victory, you deserve it." she said.

"Yeah, well, you did very well and you could have taken my title." he said with a smile.

"I will do one day you know." she said as she smiled back.

"I really enjoyed our battle, Kyra." he said.

"So did I, Gou." she replied.

"You could do with more lessons from a master." he said and smirked as he could expect her reaction.

"You want to point one out as I don't know any." she said with her arms crossed and a small, fake frown.

Gou chuckled. "I like that about you, Kyra, sarcastic replies and a tough side. No other girl I've met is like you, other than my Aunt Tari I suppose." he said.

Kyra laughed and said "I like you as you really are one person I can be level with in terms of attitude. My dad gives in too easily now."

"If my dad was like yours, I'd rule the mansion, so he won't be going soft on me any time soon." said Gou and he stepped closer towards Kyra.

"Poor you." she said in a soft tone and also stepped closer to him so she was looking up into his violet eyes.

Gou smiled and lifted a finger to move some of her hair out of the way and she lifted a finger to trace two of his face paint triangles.

"I love you, Kyra, I have done for a long time." Gou admitted and a faint blush could be seen.

"And I feel the same to you, Gou. I love you." Kyra said and her blush was deeper.

The two teens closed the gap between them and their lips met in a loving and meaningful kiss.


	13. Disallowed Romance

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 13: Disallowed Romance

The next day came and Tala was busy getting ready for the flight back to Russia that evening. Marina and Alex were helping him out, but Kyra was sitting on her bed being lazy with her mobile in hand.

"_Yesterday was awesome and finished perfectly._" she said to herself and pictured Gou in her mind's eye and smiled.

"Kyra, are you staying in bed all day?" came Tala's voice through the door.

"Dad, I'm up, just sorting my stuff out." she replied, though she was mostly lying.

"Fine, well, as long as you make sure you are ready by the time we leave as we won't be waiting for you." he said.

Kyra lightly frowned as she heard her dad's retreating footsteps.

"_Gou, call soon._" she begged her phone.

Moments later, the phone's ringtone went, she quickly pressed the button and placed the phone against her ear.

"Hi, Gou." she said quietly, but excitedly.

"_Hi, Kyra. What are you up to?_" came Gou's voice through the phone. He sounded quiet too, so was obviously being as secretive as her.

"Nothing important. My dad wants me to get ready for when we leave later. I'm mostly ready." she answered.

"_I see. Got one more thing to do before leaving have you?_" he asked and she could tell he had a teasing smirk on his face.

"You could be right, so...can you get away from your dad for a few hours?" she asked.

"_No problem. Shall I meet you in the park in a bit then?_" asked Gou.

"Yeah, I'm on my way." she said smiling.

"_Me too. Love you._" he replied.

"Love you too." she said and hung up the call.

Outside the door, Alex had overheard the arrangements for the secret meeting and chuckled with a roll of his eyes as he was called back by Tala to sort his luggage out.

* * *

Not long later, Kyra sat on a bench in the park until Gou arrived. He had his arms crossed and smiled when he saw her.

"You made it." she said when she saw him and she stood to her feet.

"Of course I did." he said with a smirk and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Being soft in public? That isn't a Hiwatari." she said teasingly.

Gou smirked and took her hand then they went somewhere more private.

"Better, Kyra?" he asked with a smile and he sat down on the grass then pulled her down to sit on his lap.

"Much." she replied and lay her head against his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her gently.

"It's going to be different and quite lonely for me when you go back to Russia." he said.

"Yeah, I'm going to miss you, Gou. We'll stay in contact though, right?" she asked as she looked up at him.

"Of course we will. Talking to you will be the highlight of my day as I love you." he said.

Kyra smiled and said "You are less like your dad than people think."

He chuckled and said "Maybe. He won't be happy if he finds out about us."

"No, nor will my dad." Kyra said.

Gou ran a hand through Kyra's red hair and said "Even if we don't see each other everyday, I'll still try my best to keep you safe and make sure you know I still care for you."

Kyra smiled. "That's sweet, Gou." then she lifted herself up slightly to kiss his lips.

He kissed back and lay down in the grass, pulling her down on top of him and they shared a passionate moment.

* * *

Later on, when Gou and Kyra had gone back to their homes and the Valkov family had set off back to Russia, Gou was sitting in his room with Jake and they were playing a racing video game.

"So, how you feeling, Champ?" asked Jake, referring to Gou's keeping his title another year.

"Very good, Jake. It was a good battle yesterday, one of my best." answered Gou and made his racing car slam Jake's into the racetrack wall.

Jake frowned at his car being damaged and said "Well, you had fun and that's what blading's all about."

"Yeah." said Gou and went into a little daydream of his time with Kyra.

"And...I take it!" shouted Jake in excitement as his car beat Gou's in the game. "You actually lost!...Um, Gou?" he asked in concern at his friend's blank look.

"What, Jake?" asked Gou and shook his head slightly.

"You have never gone into a daydream like that, so come on, what's going on?" asked Jake.

"It's nothing." said Gou, but the lie was obvious due to his slight smirk.

"Oh, I see, you've got with Kyra haven't you? Yes! You and..." started Jake then Gou grabbed him to the floor and covered his mouth.

"You stay quiet. You got that, Jake? You can't tell anyone, especially my father." said Gou seriously.

Jake nodded silently and Gou released him.

"Not a word." he said quietly and winked with a thumbs up.

* * *

Not long later, when the boys were downstairs, Jake was making lame jokes and Gou was chuckling, more at their stupidity than how funny they may or may not be.

"Hard to believe you two are such great friends, it's been a while now." said Kai from the doorway as he watched the teens.

"I'll say. You and Gou are awesome, Mr. Kai." said Jake.

Kai rolled his eyes. "How many times must I say this: just call me Kai." he said.

Jake chuckled and nodded, though both Kai and Gou knew Jake would keep up the 'Mr. Kai' stuff as he was now so used to using it.

"You two done much?" Kai asked curiously.

"Nope, just video games and Gou asked me to keep a secret." said Jake quickly then looked to Gou who was glaring.

Kai narrowed his eyes slightly and Gou felt panicked as he tried to look calm and like there was nothing being hidden.

"So...what's for eating?" asked Jake on an attempt to change the subject.

Once Jake had come back with a bag of crisps, he started to stuff them down, making Gou laugh as Kai cringed, it reminded him of Tyson in the old days.

"What?" asked Jake as he took a hard swallow.

"Nothing." said Gou innocently and then smirked at his dad's face.

"So, anyway, Gou, you meeting her again anytime soon?" asked Jake.

"Her?" asked Kai and glared at Gou who closed his eyes as he knew it was blown now.

"Yeah, Gou's only secretly dating Kyra Valkov." said Jake then his mouth fell open as he realised he had broken the promise to Gou.

Gou glared at Jake with a look that said 'Thanks a lot, Mate.' Jake felt bad and looked down in guilt.

"Gou, I'll take to you about this later." said Kai and frowned.

* * *

After Jake left with a sorry to Gou, Gou was sitting on the sofa with his music in when Kai walked into the room.

"Gou, take out that music, this is serious." he said to his son.

Gou sighed and pulled his headphones out and turned to face his father.

"Jake wasn't making a joke was he? You are seeing Kyra aren't you?" Kai asked.

Gou nodded.

"How long?" asked Kai patiently.

"Only since yesterday after our match." said Gou.

"Good, it can be nipped in the bud so to speak." said Kai.

"What? No way, Dad!" shouted Gou.

"Gou, you are not dating Kyra." said Kai in a serious tone.

"Yes I am. I love her, is that a problem?" retorted Gou with a frown.

"Gou, listen to me. She is not right for you, you have ages to worry about choosing a girl." said Kai.

"Oh, come on, Dad. Has it been so long since you were my age? Getting old?" Gou said with a teasing smirk.

Kai growled and said "Don't speak to me like that, we may be alike, but I am still your father."

"At the moment, I wish you weren't. Just butt out and accept it or we'll be arguing 24/7!" argued Gou and stormed past his father and upstairs.

"Gou, get back down here!" Kai called after his son.

"Hn, I don't want to so I won't." Gou yelled back as he entered his room and slammed the door shut and locked it.

Kai growled as he sat down feeling annoyed at his son right now.

* * *

Over in Russia, Kyra was in her room staring at her phone. She and Gou had used their phones to take a photo of each other so they could see each other wherever, whenever. Tala had noticed Kyra's daydreaming, but he didn't catch on, while Marina just thought it was some teenage crush and would blow out of her daughter's mind soon enough.

"What do you think is going on with her? She was looking blank through the whole plane journey." said Tala to Marina.

"Oh, Tala, it's probably just a crush she has. It's a teenage girl thing and I'm sure even teenage boys have crushes." she said with a chuckle.

"Maybe. I still want to know, though." said Tala and Marina rolled her eyes as it sounded like Tala was nosey.

After Marina left the room, Alex smirked to himself and decided to make his move.

"Hey, Dad, I know what's going on with Kyra." he said.

Tala's eyes widened. "You do? How?" he asked.

"I overheard her on her phone this morning arranging to meet her new boyfriend and that's where she was when she disappeared." said Alex.

"Her boyfriend?" Tala exclaimed. "Who is it? Tell me, Alex or...I'll ground you." he said and smirked at his blackmail.

Alex didn't mind as he wanted to spread this and said "Only a certain cocky dual blue haired teen called Gou Hiwatari."

"Gou. She's with Gou?" he asked, making sure he heard right.

"Oh yeah." said Alex with a nod and a smirk then headed to his room.

"_I'll be having a word with Kyra later..._" he said to himself and frowned slightly.


	14. Terrible Luck

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 14: Terrible Luck

The next day over in Hiwatari Mansion and not much had improved between Kai and Gou. Instead of arguing they were simply not talking to each other. Gou spent most of his time in his room and whenever he left his room and passed his father, he ignored him.

"Gou, stop being a child. Not talking to someone because you're annoyed with them is childish and you're much too old for that." said Kai as he tried another attempt of talking to his son.

In Gou's room, he was adjusting his beyblade's attack ring and frowned at hearing his dad's voice.

"Gou, I'm losing my patience with you. Get this door open." said Kai angrily. He was so tempted to teach the teen a lesson by kicking the door in, but wanted to try getting him out normally first.

"Dad, instead of being a pain, why don't you just leave me alone. It'll be so much easier on you." replied Gou and he lightly smirked through his frowning.

Kai growled and slammed his fist against the door before walking away. Gou chuckled as he finished up his blade.

"_Unless Dad can accept I'm going out with Kyra, he better get used to this. I can do what I want, I am 15._" he said to himself and flipped his phone out of his pocket and called Kyra's number.

Downstairs, Kai was still growling slightly. He was annoyed at his son for being so difficult.

"_That kid better get his act together as he's only being childish and immature. What does he see in Tala's daughter anyway? Hn, well, I have seen worse girls I suppose._" said Kai to himself and thought that if he made it clear he was okay with it, Gou would talk to him again, but he knew Tala wouldn't accept it easily either.

* * *

Over in Russia, Tala sat with Marina and he was deep in thought. Marina noticed this and decided to ask him what was going on.

"Tala, you've been distracted all day. Come on, tell me." she said.

Tala looked up and blinked then said "Sorry, Marina. Alex gave me some interesting news yesterday, that's all."

Alex looked up from his chair in the other room as he had heard his father say his name.

"_Is Dad going to tell Mum what I revealed?_" he wondered to himself.

Back in the room, Marina looked at Tala in interest, but he shook his head. Marina frowned lightly as she didn't like secrets in the family.

* * *

Upstairs, in Kyra's room, she smiled as she ended the call she had got from Gou. She was still unaware that her father knew she was going out with Gou, but she knew Gou's father didn't like it and she did feel sorry for Gou as he wasn't talking to his dad at the moment.

"_Poor Gou. If my dad finds out, I may end up not talking to him for ages and I don't want that...though I know it'll be sorted eventually. Mum will be more understanding, I hope._" she said to herself.

She sighed as she lay back thinking and she lay there for a few hours deep in thought, either over how her dad would react or just picturing Gou in her mind and smiling. Near late afternoon, early evening sort of time, she heard her dad's voice.

"Okay, Kyra, come on down would you? We need to talk anyway." he shouted.

She sighed and left her room then walked downstairs to find her dad in the other sitting room. Marina was with Alex and both were unaware of the father-daughter discussion about to begin.

"You've been keeping secrets haven't you, Kyra?" Tala asked. He looked serious and had his arms crossed. Kyra wasn't about to give in to a strong glare though, she was used to it.

"What kind of secret do you think I'm keeping, Dad?" she asked with an emotionless look on her face as to not give herself away.

"Don't play games with me, Kyra. You can start by explaining the phone call Alex overheard between you and Kai's son." said Tala.

Kyra lightly gasped. She had no idea Alex had overheard and she made a mental note to kill him for telling their dad.

"I see it's true at least. I did wonder if Alex was pulling a crack joke, but you actually were trying to secretly date the young Hiwatari weren't you?" asked Tala with a smirk.

Kyra, seeing no point in lying, said "Yeah, Dad, I am going out with Gou."

Tala's eyes narrowed and he said "Of all the boys in the world, Kyra, why him?"

"He's nice, caring and he loves me, Dad. Isn't that good? Don't you want me to have a nice boyfriend instead of some dirty git?" she answered with a slight smirk as she couldn't see how Tala could retort to that one.

"Okay, you have a point, but still, there are nicer boys than Gou. He's a grouchy, stubborn kid. Like his dad was as a teenager." said Tala.

"And you weren't grouchy and stubborn when you were younger, Dad? I've heard about your past, Dad, and no offence, but you weren't exactly a goody-two-shoes who was always polite." she said.

Tala growled as his past was a completely different matter. He had been through a lot of horrible things, so he was lucky he's turned out as nice as he is now.

"Kyra, listen closely, you aren't dating Gou anymore. He's trouble in his own way. Maybe when you're older, but for now, stay away from him and certainly don't let him touch you." said Tala with a commanding tone in his voice that pissed Kyra off.

"No one has ever told you what to do, so don't tell me what to do. I'm happy, isn't that enough?" she asked angrily.

Marina and Alex came into the room after hearing the argument get louder.

"Oh boy, this one is major." whispered Alex.

"Tala, what is this about?" asked Marina.

Alex tapped his mum's shoulder and she looked round. "Mum, it's about Kyra secretly dating Gou Hiwatari." he said.

"Alex, you knew and you told your dad? You should have told me first, you knew this would happen." said Marina and she turned back to the argument. "Tala, Kyra, break it up." she said.

Alex sighed. He knew his dad wouldn't like it, but he never saw a big argument like this coming.

"Kyra, you and Gou are forgotten history. Forget it ever happened." said Tala.

"No, Dad, as I love Gou." retorted Kyra.

"Tala!" shouted Marina in an attempt to stop him from retorting.

"Marina, stay out of it." said Tala as he growled.

Marina frowned and hn'd then exited the room and slammed the door behind her. Alex watched her go.

"Mum?..." he said and began to follow when...

"Alexander Valkov, you're not going anywhere." said Tala harshly so Alex stopped in his tracks.

* * *

Away from the base, walking at the edge of a Siberian town, Marina was angry and upset.

"_What is wrong with those two? They always argue. I've had enough of it._" she said to herself and stopped her tears falling as she glowed slightly in her power.

She hadn't used Zeroth in a while, apart from some teaching of her children, so she wanted to hear his voice.

"_**Mistress, don't worry. Tala and Kyra will sort this out. You should head back to the base as I don't like the feeling of you being out alone when it's getting dark. Anyone could be hanging around, you know what I mean.**_" the unicorn said to her.

"_Yeah, Zeroth. You're right. I know exactly what you mean._" she answered.

She sighed and began to turn back so she could get back to the base and she heard a rustle in the tree nearby. She turned, but could see nothing, though she felt a tingle up her spine which made her shiver and she began to walk faster. She was getting scared even though she knew the way and shivered more as she continued on. She turned a corner and squinted her eyes as she thought she could see someone.

"Well, well, well, what a surprise. Marina Kingston...well, Valkov now isn't it? How nice to see you once again. Do you remember me?" asked a voice.

Marina frowned as she could recognise the voice, but couldn't place who it was.

"Marina, come on. How could you forget me after our big battle all those years ago when I made use of your cousin." said the voice.

Marina gasped. "No...Venera..." she said slowly in fear.

Venera walked forward so Marina could properly see her. Her black hair and outfit were so much the same as last time she had seen the others. She did look older, but was recognisable.

"Yes, it's me. I've had a long time to plan revenge and to get a certain man in my grasp." Venera said.

Marina realised in a split second Venera meant Kai and she shook her head. "You still think you can get hold of him? You are crazy, Venera." she said with a smirk.

"Maybe so, but I don't need my intelligence to distract an easy fool like you." said Venera.

Marina gasped and was about to turn when an arm wrapped around her and held her still. She struggled, but stopped as she felt a sharp pain in one of her arms. She managed to turn her head and her eyes were met with light brown eyes she remembered well.

"Pyro..." she said.

He smirked with a nod and before Marina could react any more, she tensed slightly as the substance was injected into her then she fell unconscious so Pyro caught her in his arms and held her.

"Perfect." he muttered and he looked down at her with a smirk on his face and said "Still beautiful like she was 19 years ago. Oh, how time has flown. I've missed her."

Venera just sighed with her arms crossed then Pyro walked away to his hideout, carrying Marina in his arms. Venera followed with a slight growl at not being praised for her role in helping him.


	15. Fear All Around

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

**Note: This chapter has a little mature content, just a fair warning hehe**

Chapter 15: Fear All Around

It was the following morning when Marina awoke...

"Oh god...where am I?" she asked as her eyes flickered open. She was met with the bars of a cell and realised she was a prisoner. "Oh no..." she muttered in worry.

It was a black room and not much light was coming in. Marina looked around trying to find an exit or a way of escaping, but she couldn't do anything.

"_I bet Boris is somehow behind this._" Marina concluded to herself and began to think, then something came to her...

**Flashback**

_"Maybe so, but I don't need my intelligence to distract an easy fool like you." said Venera._

_Marina gasped and was about to turn when an arm wrapped around her and held her still. She struggled, but stopped as she felt a sharp pain in one of her arms. She managed to turn her head and her eyes were met with light brown eyes she remembered well._

_"Pyro..." she said._

_He smirked with a nod and before Marina could react any more, she tensed slightly as the substance was injected into her then she fell unconscious..._

**End Flashback**

"_Of course...now I remember. It was Venera. She distracted me and then Pyro got me..._" she said to herself then she sighed and sat back against the stone cell wall and hugged her knees close to her chest.

She looked around, trying not to look too scared, but her mind said something different.

"_Zeroth...please tell me you're there._" she said in her mind, trying to connect with the unicorn.

"_**Yes, Mistress. I'm here for you. I'll try my best to keep you safe and I'm sure Tala will save you. Even if he can't, I might be able to get through to Zeus and get Brooklyn here. He'd crush Pyro.**_" said the unicorn in her mind and she chuckled at the part about Brooklyn crushing Pyro.

Soon after when Marina had been comforted by Zeroth, though still scared, she heard the sound of footsteps. She could guess it was Pyro and her pose stiffened as the person entered...it was indeed Pyro.

"Well, well, hello, Babe." he said and he stood outside her cell with his arms crossed and smirking down at her.

Marina raised an eyebrow. "What did you just call me?" she asked.

"Must I repeat myself for your simple mind? I called you Babe as that's what you are to me. You're mine." said Pyro.

"I am not yours. Quit deluding yourself, Pyro. You're as bad as Venera wanting Kai." Marina said and frowned.

Pyro chuckled. "Venera truly does delude herself. She wants Kai and won't do anything about it. You belong to me and I want you so I am doing something about it. You'll enjoy yourself with me, Babe." he said.

He entered her cell and grabbed her wrist, pulling her to her feet. She wrenched her arm out of his grasp and he growled.

"You will learn _that_ is not acceptable, Babe. Oh yes, you will learn." he said and then smiled evilly.

She frowned, but he grabbed her roughly and forced her out of the cell. As she tried to fight back, he hurt her to make her move down the corridor towards another room. It turned out to be a circular room and at the back wall was a hanging chain. Marina gasped and Pyro smirked...

* * *

Over in the Valkov base, Tala had woken up and expected to find Marina having returned, but her side of the bed had obviously been untouched.

"_Oh Marina...where are you? This is all my fault._" he said to himself.

He found Alex and Kyra downstairs arguing. Kyra was giving Alex a piece of her mind about him having told their dad about her and Gou.

"Stop it, you two. We have a situation here." he said and both teens stopped their retorting at each other.

"What do you mean, Dad?" asked Alex.

Kyra gave Tala a frown, then noticed something so asked him "Dad, where is Mum?"

"You hit the nail on the head, Kyra. I don't know. She didn't come home last night." said Tala and lowered his head slightly.

"Oh no...what are we going to do, Dad? Can't your Wolborg locate Mum's Zeroth?" asked Alex.

"It's a good idea, Son, but Wolborg's had troubles in the past locating Zeroth. It's hard." said Tala dejectedly.

Alex nodded and Kyra sighed in sadness.

"Mum..." Kyra muttered. She felt guilty as she knew it was her and Tala's fault this had happened.

* * *

Over in Japan, slightly later in the day, Gou was once again barricaded in his room by choice and sighed to himself.

"_Things are so boring lately. I miss Kyra._" he said to himself and closed his eyes to think about her when suddenly his phone rang. He looked at the display and smiled so answered it. "Hey, Kyra, what's up?"

"_Hi Gou..._" came the quiet, sad reply.

"Kyra, what's happened? What's wrong? You sound like you've been crying." said Gou in concern.

"_It started with last night. Alex told Dad about you and me, so an argument broke out. Mum left and she hasn't come back..._" explained Kyra.

"Oh, Kyra, I'm so sorry to hear that. I don't know what to say, but I'm sure your mum will be okay. You'll see." said Gou, trying to be reassuring.

"_Thank you, Gou...talk to you later._" said Kyra.

Gou was about to say something else, but he heard one more sob before the call was ended. He put his phone down then clenched his fists and slammed one on the table loudly.

"Gou, what are you doing in there?" asked Kai as he had passed Gou's room and heard the slam.

"Nothing, Dad. I'm not in the mood, leave me alone." Gou replied and gave a low growl.

Kai didn't like that answer and forced the door open.

"I've had enough of you being childish and locking yourself in your room." he said then noticed Gou's phone on the bed, turned on. "Been talking to your girl, have you?" he asked.

"It isn't like that, Dad. For your information, something is very wrong over in Russia." Gou burst out.

Kai looked a little more interested and said "Go on, what's happened?"

Gou sighed. "Kyra said that she argued with her dad about herself and me, so her mum left and hasn't returned. That was last night." he explained.

Kai growled. "Let's hope Marina does return soon and that Boris isn't involved." he said.

Gou nodded in agreement.

* * *

Back in Russia, in Pyro's little hideout, he had Marina slammed against the wall and her wrists tied together above her head by the hanging chain. He watched her for a bit and smirked in delight.

"Pyro, you better let me go or you will pay!" Marina shouted as she tried to get free, but couldn't.

"I will pay? I seriously doubt it, Babe. I'm going to enjoy myself and have you to myself. When I finish off Valkov and your pathetic, soft cousin, no one will stand in my way. If Hiwatari tries, well, I can sort him too." said Pyro.

He approached Marina and put a hand against the wall next to her head and leant in to kiss her. She lifted her leg to try and kick him away, but he stopped her with his free hand.

"Now, now, Babe. If you hurt me, you know I'll have to hurt you back ten times." he said with a small smirk.

Her eyes widened in fear and Pyro leant forwards again and caught her lips with his own. She stubbornly held her mouth shut as to not give Pyro what he wanted.

Pyro pulled back and growled. He raised his knee and kneed her between the legs. She screamed and Pyro took his advantage: moving his tongue into her mouth and exploring what he believed to be his territory. Marina felt horrible and closed her eyes to avoid seeing the delight in Pyro's eyes.

"_She's good._" he said to himself as he deepened the kiss and placed his hands on her waist.

She flinched to his touch and he raised his hands up her top and stroked her skin up to her chest and back down. Marina started to let tears fall down her cheeks as there was nothing she could do to stop Pyro...


	16. Information and Differation

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 16: Information and Differation

Over in Japan, Jake was around Hiwatari mansion after having been called by Gou to meet him. The two teens were in Gou's room at the moment.

"So, Gou, what was with the urgent call? Everything okay?" asked Jake as he sat next to Gou and flicked his shoulder length hair out of the way.

"Nothing here. Me and Dad are mainly sorted. No, the trouble is in Russia, Jake. Kyra gave me a call and she had an argument with her dad as he found out about me and her. Her mother left and hasn't returned. No one knows where she is...Kyra's worried." explained Gou.

Jake nodded as he understood and looked across the room for a bit, thinking.

"This is going to sound too optimistic, but isn't Mrs. Valkov pretty powerful herself. She can handle things can't she?" he asked after a bit.

"I see what you're saying, Jake, but there are dangers out there. My dad has told me about some of the people out there who could be a threat if they show up again." said Gou.

"You mean your dad has been in trouble before?" asked Jake.

"Trouble? Jake, he's been in life-threatening situations, long before I was born. Not just him either. Tala, Marina, Aunt Tari, Uncle Brooklyn...they've all had dangerous times." said Gou.

"My dad didn't say much to me as he said it wasn't his place to tell me stuff." said Jake.

"Well, I'd say you're involved and you've known us for quite a few years now. I see no harm in giving you a brief fill-in." said Gou and he sat more comfortably on his bed.

Jake nodded and got more comfortable too so he could hear this information.

"Okay, well from what I know, it all started with a company named Biovolt. My great-grandfather, Voltaire, was owner of that company with his right-hand man, Boris Balkov. Biovolt was a front for a beyblade training centre known as the Abbey and many children were placed in there at a young age to be trained as emotionless beyblade soldiers." explained Gou and took a pause.

Jake gasped and his eyes were wide in shock already from the info.

"My father and Aunt Tari were placed in that abbey when they were children, as were Tala and a group of others. Basically, Jake, my father got out of there after a...um, mess you could say...with an evil bit beast. Years later, with the help of his new team, my dad defeated Biovolt and had it closed down. There was some more trouble from Boris and Voltaire, more considering my aunt, but that'll take way too long to explain." continued Gou.

Jake looked stunned at the info, he had even growled a little at how horrible Biovolt sounded.

"After a situation with Radiation X was sorted, Marina joined Tala's team and several years later, Boris re-appeared and had created another evil bit beast. I won't go into that, but he made Marina use it." said Gou and Jake nodded. "So, a few more years after that, an old foe called Dr. K showed up and she had her daughter, Venera, with her. Dad didn't say much about her, though she sounds real annoying."

"This sounds major." whispered Jake then shh'd as to not interrupt Gou.

"After a situation involving Uncle Brooklyn being brainwashed by Venera and Dr. K, that's about it as nothing else has really happened." finished Gou.

"Bloody..." said Jake and trailed off. "Your dad and his friends have sure been through some nasty stuff. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't known you and your dad and your friends all this time."

Gou nodded. "Oh yeah, there was also this dude named Pyro...he was an evil street blader, but that's all Dad really knows about him, though there are hints Pyro could be a lot worse. He has a nasty reputation in Russia." he added.

Jake nodded with a sigh and said "Well...I sure hope Marina's not in any mess involving any of these people."

Gou nodded too and both boys tried to think about other things for now.

* * *

Over in another part of Japan, in a back yard of one of the houses, was a yell.

"Katie!"

A teen with dark orange hair and dark violet eyes was sitting behind the rockery giggling to herself.

"_He's so slow._" she said to herself.

"Katie, stop doing this to me, it isn't fair." said a voice.

The voice came from the other teen in the garden who had brown hair with some orange streaks in it.

"Keep trying, Luke. Katie isn't that well hidden." said Tari with a chuckle.

She was watching the teens mess around. Brooklyn was inside on the phone.

"Got you!" shouted Luke as he found Katie.

"Ah, well, I tried. Nice work, Luke." she said and smiled, then ruffled his hair as she knew he didn't like it.

"Katie, please!" whined Luke as he began to sort his hair out.

A moment later, Brooklyn came outside, but looked very distracted.

"Hey, Dad, what's up?" asked Luke as he looked up at his father.

Brooklyn didn't answer, so Tari looked over at him too. "Hey, Brookie, what's wrong?" she asked.

Katie normally would giggle as she liked her dad's nickname, but something about the look on his face made her worry.

"It was Kai on the phone. He said that Gou had got a call from Kyra about...Marina." said Brooklyn slowly.

"Dad, what's wrong? Is she okay?" asked Luke.

"I don't think so, Luke. She's missing...neither Tala, Alex or Kyra know where she is." said Brooklyn and he looked very worried.

"Daddy, it will be okay." said Katie comfortingly as she stood next to her father and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Tari, what if you-know-who is involved?" Brooklyn asked as he looked over to his wife.

"You mean Boris? Well, it's possible, but I sure hope not. If it is him, he is going to pay." said Tari.

Brooklyn clenched his fists and growled. Katie backed away as this was a new side to her father she had heard of, but never witnessed. Same for Luke and he looked nervous.

"We should get to Russia. I can't stay here when Marina could be in danger." declared Brooklyn.

Tari looked at the two teens. They nodded to show they were with their parents no matter what so she nodded too and they discussed plans to go to Russia as soon as can be.

* * *

Over in Russia, in Pyro's hideout, Marina had been treated harshly by Pyro, but at the moment he was leaving her be as he was having a discussion with Venera in the hideout's main entrance.

"Pyro, what exactly are we accomplishing by holding Marina prisoner? I want to see her beaten and defeated, killed...but you don't seem too bothered with doing more than using her for your own desires." said Venera as she stood against a wall with her arms crossed.

"Venera, stop talking to me like that and listen. Keeping my Babe here will attract Valkov and Kingston here as they think they're so tough and can free her. Hn, they are weaklings really...well, Valkov is." said Pyro and frowned as he hated admitting Brooklyn was stronger than himself.

"Fine, then tell me this: are you ever going to kill Marina or just keep using her?" asked Venera.

Pyro sat on a crate in the hideout and sighed. "I will keep her as long as I like. Besides, once Valkov and Kingston are out of the way, she'll have no more protection and then I can have my way with her and then I'll kill her...although..." he said and started to think.

"Although what?" asked Venera.

"She is very strong. Maybe her power can be useful on our side." Pyro concluded.

Venera looked at him with a raised eyebrow then went into hysterics of laughter. Pyro frowned and shouted "What's so funny?"

Venera caught her breath and said "Use her on our side? You're having a thick moment, Pyro. She wouldn't do anything for us."

"Venera, you forget what persuasion is. If my Babe refused to follow orders, she would feel pain unlike any she's ever felt before. You know I wouldn't let her get away with any disobedience."

Venera rolled her eyes. "Just kill her off, she's worthless to us." she said.

"At least I can get who I want." said Pyro with a smirk, knowing Venera wouldn't like that.

"Pyro. Don't make my mother's mistake. I can get my hands on Kai one day. I know I can, so don't you dare think I can't." she said.

"How many years has it been, Venera? You can't get your hands on Hiwatari. I'll admit he has bad taste as you look all right to me." said Pyro and he licked his lips.

"Freak." muttered Venera and closed her eyes with a shake of her head.

"Just you say that again!" growled Pyro.

"Freak!" she shouted in his face and stormed away, but he grabbed her wrist so she swung her other arm around to hit him. He ducked, but was forced to release her so she disappeared to do some training.

"_Stupid girl. She may be hot, but not that clever or worth it._" Pyro said to himself and got his own blade out to train.


	17. All As A Group

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 17: All As A Group

In a plane flying high above the sea, crossing between Japan and Russia, sat a group of people. One of them, who was usually very excitable, was now being quiet and serious. It was Jake and he was sitting at the window seat and next to him was Gou.

"I can't believe it, Gou. I've never been in such a serious situation before." said Jake, and as Gou looked round he could see nervousness in his friend's eyes.

"Jake, I know what you mean. We'll be okay. We have our bit beasts' powers for starters." said Gou.

Kai watched as his son reassured Jake and advised him. Across from where Kai, Gou and Jake sat were Brooklyn and Tari. In the seats behind them were Luke and Katie.

"Brooklyn, are you okay?" asked Tari as she looked towards her husband and noticed he was shaking a little and looking very distracted.

Luke and Katie looked over the seats from where they sat as they heard their mum's voice.

"Yo, Dad." said Luke as he tried to get Brooklyn's attention.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" asked Katie.

Brooklyn looked up and shook his head then turned to his family with a small smile. "Nothing's wrong. I'm okay, just worried about Marina." he said.

Tari gave him a small hug and said "We'll find her, she'll be okay, Brookie."

Luke and Katie nodded then they heard the loudspeaker go off saying that the plane would be landing soon so they sat back down properly and did their seat belts.

* * *

Once the guys had got their luggage they looked round and saw Tala with Alex and Kyra.

"Kyra." said Gou and was about to go up to her when he took a look at his dad's face and Tala's small frown at him.

"Hi, Gou." replied Kyra.

"Anything else come to you guys yet, Tala?" asked Kai as he interrupted the awkward silence.

"Nothing, just Wolborg's bit keeps glowing, but he can't locate Zeroth." said Tala.

"We have to do some training if nothing else, so let's get back to your base, Tala." said Tari.

Tala nodded and the group headed off. Gou occasionally gave Kyra a glance. It made him angry that she looked so sad, as if she had been crying a lot. Alex was slightly looking over at Katie, but she didn't notice as she was talking to her brother. Jake was simply following the group, feeling a little out of place, as if he wasn't meant to be there.

* * *

At the base, they were put in groups for training. Jake wanted a rematch with Gou and the two faced off across a dish.

"Okay, Gou, let's go." said Jake as he stood in launch position.

"Yeah." said Gou as he also stood in position.

The blades were released and Gou had the advantage. His blue blade kept hitting Jake's blade.

"Aereon!" shouted Jake and the angel rose from her bit and faced Gou.

"Kaenna!" shouted Gou and his gold phoenix rose and shrieked at the angel.

"Aereon, attack!" shouted Jake and the angel hit the phoenix head-on. Kai narrowed his eyes slightly as he knew Jake was cleverer than a head-on attack.

"Kaenna, attack and win!" shouted Gou. The phoenix struck its claws at the angel and Jake gasped as she returned to her bit and his blade stopped spinning.

"Jake...?" asked Gou in surprise at the easy victory.

Jake turned away and left to be alone. The others watched after him slightly confused.

* * *

Over in Pyro's hideout, Pyro was lazing around smirking to himself. He had been enjoying himself with Marina, seeing the fear in her eyes and 'punishing' her if she didn't give him what he wanted. He was just thinking back on what he's done so far when he heard Venera's voice.

"Pyro, I noticed Kingston and his family, along with the Hiwataris and that new kid, have joined up with Valkov's lot. I imagine they're training ready to engage us in battle." she said as she entered.

"I suppose you're right, Venera. They have a nice group of powers amongst them, but I'm confident that only Hiwatari and Kingston may be a problem, so we need not fear the others." said Pyro in a confident tone.

"Pyro, who will you battle when the time comes?" asked Venera as she stood over Pyro and looked down at him.

He sat up and said "Valkov as I want to teach him a lesson." then he smirked evilly.

"I'll take on Hiwatari in that case. He also has a lesson to learn." she said.

"We may need to take on Kingston together. He is more of a pest if I'm honest." said Pyro and he stood up. He was slightly taller than Venera and smiled down at her.

"I agree. He is unfortunately one of the worthy ones in terms of power. Together we can get him." Venera replied and smiled up at Pyro.

He smirked and took her in his arms. She allowed it and they shared a kiss on the lips, quite a heated, passionate kiss, until Venera felt Pyro's hands go up her waist and she pushed him off so he stumbled backwards.

"You sicko!" she exclaimed and walked away wiping her mouth with a shudder.

Pyro frowned as he watched her go, as he could tell she had enjoyed that moment they shared.

* * *

Back at Tala's base, Jake was starting to adjust. He simply had been nervous and felt it was a little too much too soon for him, but he was getting into it now. He was training with Tala and giving the older blader some useful tips.

"Come on, Tala. You're using your eyes, not instincts." said Jake as his blade dashed around like a blur and kept catching Tala's.

"This is so lame. A blader of my experience getting smacked around by a teenager." said Tala with a growl. In his irritation his blade missed Jake's.

"Come on, Tala." said Kai as he watched with a smirk on his face.

Over near a tree, Gou sat with Kyra in his lap. They had decided on having some time together while the adults were busy.

"I'm glad to have you back, Gou." said Kyra as she huggled up against Gou and rested her head on his chest.

"I'm glad I have you. I've missed you." he said and ran a hand through her long red hair.

"I'm scared for my mum, Gou. She could be in real bad danger." said Kyra, and again, she could feel tears in her eyes.

"I understand, Kyra. All of us are doing what we can to find her. She'll be fine." Gou replied and used a finger to wipe her small tears away.

Over in one of the beydishes, there was a flash of purple/black light that surprised everyone, even the bit beast's owner.

"Zeus, what was that?" asked Brooklyn as his blade came flying back to his hand.

"_**Master Brooklyn, I suddenly got an image of Zeroth. I know where he and Marina are and we have to hurry. Two old foes need to be stopped: one of them must be the street blader, Pyro, and it looks like the other is Venera.**_" said the bit beast in Brooklyn's mind.

"Pyro. He bothered Marina during her use of Black Zeroth all those years ago...and Venera. I hate her after what she did to me." said Brooklyn and he growled as he remembered the torture he had been through and being used on his friends.

"What's going on, Brookie?" asked Tari as she and the others came over.

"We have to make a plan and head off. Zeus knows where Marina is. She's in that freak, Pyro's, hands and he's working with Venera." said Brooklyn.

The adults growled at hearing that Pyro and Venera are working together, though the teens looked up at them slightly confused as they had only heard small things about both Pyro and Venera.

"I'm taking on Pyro. That's final." said Tala suddenly.

The others looked at him in surprise. "Tala, we've heard about Pyro's power from Marina. I don't like the sound of you taking him alone." said Kai.

"I can handle him, no matter what." said Tala and the others nodded, letting him have it his way, at least for now.


	18. The Bey War of all History

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 18: The Bey-War of all History

Over in Tala's base, the group were all sat in the main living room. Some were fiddling with their blades, some were thinking and a couple were playing to take their minds off things.

"We have a hard day today." mumbled Tala as he stood up from his seat.

"Yes we do, Tala, but we are aware of our own powers while Venera and Pyro are only two. They are way disadvantaged." said Brooklyn as he looked up.

"Brooklyn, have you gone completely stupid over the years? Pyro and Venera have Marina, they have a hostage situation to throw at us and might use Marina as a shield so we can't attack." said Tala harshly.

Brooklyn frowned, but nodded. Tari frowned at Tala too as they were all under pressure, but it was no reason to call anyone 'stupid'.

"Take it easy, Dad. We'll save Mum for sure." said Alex as he looked over at his father.

Tala nodded to his son and then looked over at Kyra with Gou and sighed. "Well, let's head off. The sooner the better." he said.

The group all nodded and got to their feet and followed Tala out of the base and they followed Zeus' signal as he had been the one to locate Zeroth.

* * *

Over at Pyro's hideout, he was down in the room he had Marina locked up and smirked when she looked up at him blankly. She had started to lose fear of him and just expect another bad hour or two in his hands.

"So, Babe, it seems your precious Valkov is on the way. Won't it be such a treat to see the once great blader reduced to ashes?" he asked with an evil smile.

Marina gasped in fear slightly.

"What, Babe? I didn't say it'd be your treat. This battle today is all for me. _I_ will have the pleasure of finishing Valkov and _I_ will have the prize for winning: you." he added and his eyes lit up which made Marina turn away sadly.

He left the room laughing evilly then Venera entered past him.

"Come on, Marina. You are watching this." she said and grabbed Marina by her arm and forced her to her feet and made her leave the room.

* * *

Outside the hideout, Tala and the group were just arriving. Tala looked up at the hideout then decided to make his move.

"Pyro! Venera! Get out of there!" he shouted.

Kai rolled his eyes slightly. Tala's method of getting his enemies out hadn't changed over the years. Soon enough, Pyro came out, but Venera was out of sight.

"Welcome to your end." he said as his gaze passed over each person.

"It will be your end, Freak!" piped up Luke bravely then gulped slightly as Pyro's gaze locked on him.

"Did your parents not teach you to pick your battles, Boy? Luckily for you, you don't interest me." said Pyro.

Tari and Brooklyn frowned angrily. The group then heard a struggle and Venera came out pulling Marina along with her.

"Marina...?" started Tala in surprise and anger at how weak she looked. Not physically, but her eyes lacked warmth and love. Only showing fear and sadness.

Venera pushed Marina into Pyro's hands and he held her in front of himself and then smiled. He stroked her cheek making her cringe. Tala growled, but was distracted by Kyra saying something.

"Leave my mother alone, Freak!" she shouted.

Pyro's eyes turned to Kyra and he smirked slightly. "There's no mistaking you are my Babe's daughter. You have her eyes and beauty, shame your hair comes from your loser father." he said.

Both Tala and Gou growled as Kyra started to glare at Pyro, even though she was scared. Venera, who had been paying little attention, looked over at Kai and smiled. He noticed and frowned.

She began to eye him up slightly and said "Have you missed me, Kai, as I've been thinking about you?" then she licked her lips seductively towards him.

Kai mentally shuddered though didn't look away as it would be weak. Next to him, Gou frowned angrily at this strange woman flirting with his dad.

"Pyro, I challenge you!" exclaimed Tala to break the situation.

Pyro hn'd and turned to stand in front of Marina. He ran a hand down her chest and said "Wish me luck, Babe." and he smirked as she turned her head away with her eyes closed.

Tala growled. "Just get over here and battle, Freak!" he shouted.

Pyro turned to Tala and began to walk forward. "Tsk, tsk, watch those manners, Valkov, or you may never see your charming wife again." he said in a taunting manner.

Venera held Marina back by her arms as Tala and Pyro got into their launch positions.

"Let it rip!" shouted both bladers and released their blades.

The red blade circled the grey blade and Pyro looked at Tala.

"I hope you don't think you have a chance, Valkov, as you'll be sorely disappointed." said Pyro confidently.

"You will be the one to lose, Pyro. You never should have shown up again." said Tala. "Wolborg, attack!" he shouted.

The white wolf rose with a roar and faced Pyro, his amber eyes glowing in hatred to the street blader.

"Hn, a helpless puppy won't defeat me. Pyrotoa!" the dual haired man shouted.

The red dragon in his orange armour rose from the red blade and spread his wings with an almighty roar at the wolf.

"Tala, be careful!" shouted Marina then Venera tightened her grip on her arms.

"Quieten down." she said as Marina gasped in pain.

Tala noticed and growled. Wolborg swung his paw at Pyrotoa and clawed him.

Pyro growled. "Fireballs!" he shouted.

Pyrotoa opened his mouth and shot out three fireballs which headed for Wolborg. Two caught the wolf, but one headed in Tala's direction and hit his arm, leaving a burn. He groaned in pain and Pyro smirked evilly.

"Tala, will you be all right?" asked Tari.

"Dad!" shouted Alex and Kyra in fear and worry.

Marina pushed her way out of Venera's grip and ran towards Pyro and jumped on him, pushing him down onto the ground. She pinned him down and glared at him.

"I know you want me, Babe, but you're going to have to wait." said Pyro as he looked up into Marina's green eyes.

Marina's glare softened slightly in fear and she loosened her grip on him so he pushed her off to get back to his feet. He headed back to his battle with Tala.

"No, Pyro!" said Marina and grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Back off!" he shouted and swung his other arm round hitting her to the ground.

She lay there moving weakly, but couldn't stand.

"Dranzer!" shouted Kai furiously and launched his blade in as Tari said "Kai, don't..." but she was too late.

Tala was growling angrily and increased his power then heard the sound of the blue blade and looked round slightly. However, suddenly a silver blade hit the blue blade and Kai looked over to see Venera with launcher in hand.

"How about taking me on, Hiwatari?" she said with a smile as her piercing dark blue eyes glared at him.

"Gladly. Dranzer, attack!" shouted Kai and the red phoenix rose from his blade and shrieked at Venera.

"A pesky bird is all you have for me. I'm disappointed. Go, Ryath!" shouted Venera and the silver dragoness with golden wings rose from the blade and roared at the phoenix.

The phoenix and dragoness battled it out as, in the other match, the dragon struck the wolf over and over again.

"Pyrotoa, go!" shouted Pyro and the dragon hit Wolborg hard so Tala's blade went flying backwards.

"No, Dad!" shouted Alex in panic.

Just before Tala's blade landed in a lifeless heap, the red blade knocked it so it landed balanced and kept spinning.

"I'm not done with you, Valkov." he said with an evil smile.

Pyrotoa resumed his attacks on Wolborg then sunk his teeth in the wolf's side. Wolborg howled in pain and Tala growled as he felt a fresh pain in his side from the blader-bit beast bond.

"Tala..." said Marina weakly as she got to her knees and sat back to watch the battles.

"Dad!" shouted Alex and was about to jump in until Jake and Luke stopped him. Gou held Kyra back and tried to reassure her.

"Wolborg, Novae Rog!" shouted Tala.

The wolf let out his attack and froze Pyro's blade then slammed into it, weakening it greatly. Pyro frowned and watched as the grey blade kept smacking his red blade around. He couldn't understand how Tala could battle like this when so weak.

"Pyrotoa, power up!" shouted Pyro.

The dragon roared and flames rose around him, but Wolborg still fought back. Pyro looked stunned.

"How does it keep fighting back? There's no way. I should have won long ago." he said and shouted in anger.

Kai and Venera looked round from their battle to see Pyrotoa's wings spreading and the whole area started to heat up.

"Oh no, not this..." said Marina as she remembered Pyro's Heatwave attack. She groaned as it steadily got hotter and hotter.

Kai and Tala tried to use their arms to block off the heat, but they could feel burns on their arms and winced. Tala was even worse off as he was so injured already. Venera screamed as she shielded from the heat too. The sky even started to glow a reddish-orange as Pyrotoa's flames rose higher.

"That can't be good!" shouted Jake as he stared up at the orange sky.

"Tala, you have to stop him, before he ignites the atmosphere and kills us all!" shouted Tari desperately.

"I will win. I have to, I am the undisputed best blader here, I can't lose! Pyrotoa!" shouted Pyro and screamed as his bit beast's flames rose higher and his power went out of control in his insanity.

Kai tried to concentrate and managed to defeat Venera while she was preoccupied with the heat and her silver blade rolled to her feet. A moment later, bursts of fire shot around the area and one hit her to the ground.

"Pyro...you...you can handle this alone. You're insane..." she said weakly as she got to her feet and picked up her blade. She hn'd and took off giving Kai one last look and growling at him before leaving the battlefield to wherever she will go now.

Pyro growled and the sky glowed deeper red. Kai looked to Tala and smiled. Tala nodded and smiled back.

"Dranzer!" "Wolborg!" they both shouted and their blades charged together, with both their powers alongside each other and pushed against the red blade.

The dragon roared in defeat and disappeared to his blade. As he did, the area started to cool down and the sky turned back to normal colour. Marina smiled over to Tala and Kai.

"Fantastic, guys!" shouted Jake in excitement and whooped in happiness.

Pyro had fallen to his knees breathing heavily, but when he stood up, blade in hand, he looked over at Marina and frowned then looked back to Tala.

"You've lost, Pyro." Tala said with a small smirk.

"Maybe I have, but this isn't over, Valkov. Marina will be mine one day, I assure you." Pyro said and laughed evilly then ran away from the battlefield.

"Coward." said Kai with his arms crossed and he re-joined the others.

"You okay, Kai?" asked Tari as she noticed the few scratches on Kai's arms and legs from where the Heatwave attack had burnt him.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." he said and looked over to where Gou was holding Kyra's hand.

"It's all over, Son." he said and smiled.

Gou turned to Kyra and she nodded. Gou walked towards his father and gave him a hug. "Great work, Dad." he said.

"Gou's reputation just sunk." muttered Jake and everyone laughed.

Tala walked over to Marina, but nearly collapsed, so she crawled over to him.

"Thank you, Tala, for saving me." she said then looked down slightly.

"Marina, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's just...you're hurt now..." she answered.

Tala gently took her in his arms and hugged her. "It will be okay."

Brooklyn came over and helped Marina up to her feet as Tari tried to help Tala up.

"Thanks, Tar. I kinda need help..." said Tala then his sentence trailed off as he lost consciousness.

"Tala!" shouted Tari. "Someone call for help!" she shouted to the others.

Gou turned his phone on and gave it to Kai who called for an ambulance. Marina cried against Brooklyn's chest as she was afraid Tala wouldn't make it...


	19. A Surprise And Deja Vu

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. The only characters I own are Marina, Pyro, Venera, Alex, Kyra, Luke, Katie and Jake as they are my OCs. I have permission to use Tari from my friend, Smiffyizdabest. Any other references I make are purely coincidental.

Chapter 19: A Surprise And Deja Vu

Over in a hospital waiting room, a group of people were sat waiting for some news on how Tala was doing. The doctors had him stabilised and were expecting him to wake up soon.

"You think he'll make it?" whispered Jake to Luke who was sat next to him.

Luke slightly looked over at Kyra, who was silently crying against Gou as he comforted her, and Alex, who was fiddling with some loose strands of his t-shirt deep in thought and worry.

"Well, Jake, he should. He is tough and has been through a lot before." Luke whispered back.

Marina, who had a few bandages from what Pyro had done, was sitting away from the others. She felt very guilty as she saw it as Tala got hurt for her, and so blamed herself.

"_This is all my fault. I was the one who left the base, which was foolish in itself, then I got caught by Pyro so easily..._" she said to herself and sighed.

Tari was sitting with Brooklyn. They were also worried about Tala. Luke and Jake were the only ones talking though being extremely quiet. The only other sounds were: Kyra's sobs while Gou rubbed her back soothingly and Katie's gentle voice trying to reassure Alex. Kai was standing against the wall arms crossed and occasionally he looked over at Marina as he could see she was blaming herself.

He sighed and walked over to join her, wincing slightly as some of the burns on his legs weren't so recovered that they didn't hurt a bit. "Marina?" he asked as he reached her and sat down on the seat next to her. Marina nodded to show she was listening, but didn't look up at him so he continued. "You can't keep blaming yourself, Marina. Tala will be just fine, you know that." he said.

"Kai, it's still my fault Tala's in this position. I was the one who got myself in trouble and then needed rescuing..." she said and her sentence trailed off. Kai sighed and gave her a gentle hug, not showing that it still hurt a bit to use his arms too.

"Um, excuse me, but are you the friends and family who came in with Mr. Valkov?" asked a doctor as he came over to the group.

Everyone nodded and Alex piped up with "Is my Dad okay?"

"Well, his burns should be fine, as they aren't much worse than Mr. Hiwatari's." started the doctor and looked towards Kai who growled slightly in pain as he pulled back from Marina and let his arms rest. "The slight wounds from the 'bit beast-blader bond' thing you talked about will be fine too. All in all, he needs rest, but will make a full recovery." said the doctor and smiled to the group.

"Can we see him?" asked Kyra as she wiped her eyes.

"He's awake and asking after his family, especially Mrs. Valkov." said the doctor and looked to Marina for a moment.

"We will all go in." said Tari and she glared at the doctor, giving him a scare which made everyone chuckle or smirk.

The group entered and saw Tala on the bed looking fairly relaxed. He smiled as he saw them.

"Couldn't stay away?" he asked with a chuckle.

"Well, had to make sure you were okay I suppose." said Kai with a smirk.

"Yeah, I mean, what would we do without you?" asked Tari, also smirking.

"You two really care don't you?" asked Tala with a small frown and everyone chuckled slightly except Marina and Kyra. "Kyra? Are you okay?" Tala asked his daughter as he saw the look on her face.

"I was scared, Dad...I thought you might not make it..." Kyra said shakily.

"Aw, Kyra. I'm going to be just fine, now come give your dad a hug." said Tala.

Kyra smiled and ran over to the side of the bed and hugged her father. Everyone smiled sweetly. Kyra then stood up straight and stood near Gou.

"Missing being the one in charge and ordering people around I bet." muttered Alex under his breath.

"Yeah, Alex, that's so true. I want to be out of here and back into action." said Tala smirking.

"Back on your back you mean, Tala." said Kai.

Tala's smirk turned into a frown and everyone laughed except Marina, and Tala noticed. So did Brooklyn.

"Let's get out of here and let Tala and Marina talk." the orange haired blader said.

The group nodded and left, leaving Marina with Tala.

* * *

Outside the hospital, in a park, Gou sat with Kyra. She was feeling a lot better now they knew Tala was going to be all right. She sat next to him and and he had an arm around her.

"You seem happier, Kyra." said Gou as he raised his hand to stroke through Kyra's red hair.

"I am, Gou. My dad's going to be fine and I'm with you right now." she said and looked up into his eyes and he looked down into hers.

"I'm just glad everything will work out fine." said Gou.

"My mum will be okay, won't she? Once she is able to forgive herself, even though it wasn't her fault." asked Kyra.

"Yeah, I'd say your mum will be just fine. Don't worry, Kyra." he answered.

Kyra smiled and leant against Gou's chest. He held her close and smiled.

"Well, what do we have here?" asked a voice.

Kyra jumped up from Gou and he let go of her, both startled and turned to see Kai.

"Hey, Dad." said Gou, with a slight hint of nervousness.

Kyra scuffed her shoes against the floor and looked down, leaving Gou to explain to his dad.

"Dad, I know how it looks, but..." started Gou, but Kai just hn'd and interrupted.

"Gou, do what you want. You and Kyra be together all you like, I don't care anymore."

Kyra looked up towards Kai with a gasp as she heard that and Gou's eyes widened. Kai chuckled at the looks on both teens' faces.

"Who are you and what have you done with my dad?" asked Gou.

Kai frowned slightly and said "Don't push your luck, Gou." then he walked off, leaving the teens together. Kyra chuckled and Gou smirked as he leant down to kiss her lips.

* * *

In the hospital's cafe, Alex and Katie were sitting together. She had treated him with a small lunch as his father was feeling better.

"You okay, Alex? Your dad will make it, shouldn't you be happier? You look bored and distracted." said Katie then took another mouthful of her food.

"I am happy my dad will make it. I've been thinking about...um, about you." he said then looked down as a blush appeared on his face.

Katie placed her fork down and said "About me? Really, Alex?"

"Yeah, I've had a liking towards you for a bit now. I wasn't sure if you were interested, but I hoped..." he said.

Katie smiled, but was blushing too as she said "I am, Alex. I am interested as I have a liking to you too."

Alex was surprised, but happy and leant over to kiss her across the table.

"Alex, here in the cafeteria?" Katie said with a giggle.

"True, follow me." said Alex and the new-couple headed out of the cafe leaving a small tip.

* * *

Back in Tala's hospital room, Marina sat at the side of his bed and had her hands together, fiddling her fingers slightly.

"Marina, I don't blame you for what's happened, so please don't blame yourself." said Tala as he watched her.

"Tala, you wouldn't be hurt if I hadn't have taken off at dark then got captured so easily..." said Marina and her sentence dragged off.

"The only person to blame is Pyro and he won't be bothering us again, Marina. It will be okay, I promise." said Tala.

Marina smiled slightly and moved closer to Tala. He gently wrapped an arm around her and smiled down at her.

"This seems familiar to me." said Tala as he chuckled slightly.

"Oh, why?" asked Marina as she looked up at him.

"Well, it's like when we had our first kiss all those years ago, except I were in your position and you were in mine." said Tala.

Marina giggled. "You're right." she said.

They both smiled and Marina leant up to kiss his lips, the kiss being just as soft, meaningful and loving as that first kiss...years ago...

* * *

**Note**

* * *

**The end of another story eh? ^^ Next in the series is the final: "The Future Continues" (which I will make after the prequel stories: "The Past is Prelude" and "A Dangerous Road" (which will be made soon) which tell the backstories of my OCs Marina Kingston and Pyro ^^)**


End file.
